Ms Kong Studios A Gorillaz Story
by gogorillazgone
Summary: Destiny, a 9-year-old "know it all", is so bored of life as a mini-mozart. She wishes she can just ditch her tedious life and do something more entertaining. But she should be careful what she wishes for. Cause in this OC fanfic, it does!
1. Chapter 1

**Yus! Finally! I promised a variety of people that I would post some of my work and here it is as you all asked! I'd personally like to thand Whatsitaboutsag and Trickypixie**** on for putting up with my constant begging to post new chapters of their stories. ^-^ I love you guys! And if you love Gorillaz but wish for more chapters, Check out their stuff! **

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**_It all starts with a girl named Destiny Brooks. She starts out as a 8-year-old, but she has AMAZING talents.(BTW: This is a fun story gone romance. I'll explain later how/why)She grew up with her older/twin brother, but after discovering that they both can play every instrument in the worldher brother Derrick is put into the music world titled The Child Prodigy.  
They toured the world together as Derrick played the various instruments under his evil manager/guardian for the both, Mr. Martoche(Pronounced Mar-too-chi). But suddenly, Derrick mysteriously dies! Then Destiny has to take his place only she doesn't have her loving sibling to be with her in this horrible moment! (PictureRose from Titanic. Hating the worldof richness)  
So life sucks for her.  
We begin in London (Duh) where Destiny shall be performing for the Queen. Or so was planned._** **_The date is sometime in late June, 1998_**

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'Where is she?!' Mr. Martoche asked himself walking about the large palace. It was close to when she would perform, and Mr. Martoche was becoming very impatient. The formally dressed guests were standing amoung the grand hall chating and drinking fancy elixers as they wait for the Queen and her. Mr. Martoche asks them to wait a little longer and walks into the kitchen.  
He found a waiter and asks, "Do you have any idea where she could be?"  
Unfortuntly, he shrugs. "Maybe out back? I saw her come in a few minutes ago. She was conversing to some of the chefs and left with an apple." This makes sense, because she loved apples.  
Mr. Martoche walked out the back of the kitchen to a brightly lit hallway. Largeplants lined the yellow tinted walls from the large chandlers that gave the length a eerie glow.  
'When I find that girl, I swear I will-'  
CRUNCH! The sound of an apple being bitten into. It came from between two plants that were obstructly pulled together too close.

He knew he had her cornered.  
Smiling in victory, he walked close to the plant and parted its leaves. "Ah, there you are!"

* * *

Destiny's small body satagainst the wall where she sat and played with her walkman. The new light made her vision a bit blurry, but she glared knowing why her managerwas here.  
"What do you think you are doing?" He asked, but she shrugged and avoided looking at him. He waved his hand to come out with displeased eyes. Destiny crawled out and jumped up starightin front him.  
He was still frowning. "What happened to your pretty dress?" He asked when he noticed she was dressed in her regular outfit; A hoodie, jeans, sneakers, and her beloved knit winterhat.  
She shrugged again, tilting her head and raising a eyebrow curiously.  
Mr. Martoche rolled his eyes. "Destiny, I know perfectly well you can speak English. Besides, you must communicate with our guests!" Destiny opens her mouth wide, smiling.

Mr. Martoche shakes his head in disgust and pushed his glasses up.  
Destiny watched as he walked back towards the kitchen. "Once you've dressed, I expect you to be out there AND bring your manners. The Queen will not wait for you any longer." And so he left the hallway.

* * *

_**(Now and forever: Destiny's POV. I use "I" instead of "you" or "she" cause I find both to be annoying. Plus that's just how I write the stories.)**_

I closed my mouth and regained my bored stare after "Mr. Manners" left. At least that's what I call him. Dumb Manager. Dumb brother! Had to go and leave me to play "Child Prodigy" for because life would just stop if a kid wasn't put on display for the world to see.  
Oh, well. Nothing I can do about it now. I shoved my iPod under my hat and walked back down the hall to my room. Mr. Manners, the inhearted title manager and my guardian, rented a whole two floors of the Queen's palace so that he introduce the new "This is the new Child Prodigy" tour with an appointed first stop for the Queen herself. It's all bogus in my eyes.

When I entered said room, I used the key that I stole from my manager's stuff and was greeted by various musical cases left open. My instruments were obvoiusly already set up downstaris, but no. This was my 5th attempt at putting my foot down. I do not want to go on another tour! It sickens me!I've done it far too many times with my brother and luckily I wasn't the one being forced to play!  
Well, if I don't play the kick-off concert, then maybe there won't be anything to kick-off, right?

Layed out on my bed was the white-flowered child's dress that I refused to wear. I gagged at it and locked the bedroom door.  
Taking out my walkman, I switched to the one song I based my whole life after. Being Child Prodegy was basically playing Classical, Opera, and lots of other songs by dead people. I easily got sick of it. But on tour of my brother's was held at Germany, where somebody left behind a CD. In curiousity I listened to it. The only song was by Simple Plan, titled "Grow Up." I didn't get it at first, but now I use it as my proof that there's a life outside this stupid cliche of tours.

* * *

It was 5 pm. The concert should have been well over by now. Sharp and loud knocks pounded on my door, so I was guessing it was Mr., Do As I Say, Manners coming to rat me out.

I turned off my walkman and walked to the door as the loud raps continued. " ALRIGHT ALREADY!!" I wanted to scream, but I was mad at him. And I don't speak to the person who I'm angry at.  
Opening the door, my face took hold of shock as I was blinded by a brown sack and was lifted off my feet.  
'Wha-What the Heck!?'

"Hey! What're you doing?! Let me go! HELP!" I struggled in the bag and heard shouts coming from whoever caught me. I was too panicky to know what they were saying. "Let me go! Help! Help! Somebody help me out of here!!" I heard doors, footsteps, and finally a car speeding away. And I was in it.

**So what'd you think!!? I'm pretty happy with myself. I FINALLY posted the first chapter! **  
**By the way any guesses at who caught her? I bet you know if you know how Russel joined Gorillaz -_- Rate and Message, blah, blah BLAH! XD See ya next time.**


	2. Chapter 2

RECAP! Destiny shrieked her performance for the Queen and kick-starting the world tour by hanging out in her room. Thinking it was her angered manager coming to rat her out, she was kidnapped by somebody who tossed a bag over her and bungled her out! OH NOs!!! (P.S. Somebody remind me to kill Luka.)

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I found that being kidnapped wasn't scary as it was boring. I was in some kind of bag, probably squeezed somewhere in the back of a car, and I was bored. Frankly, I had nothing to do and it seemed to go for hours.

My feet were asleep and I bounced whenever the car hit a ditch. The Worst part......

I had the annoying hiccups

"Great. *hic* Just great." I mumbled/hiccupped as another bounce sent my body up and down again. I landed in a funny position. As I was getting myself back upright, I was thinking; who's driving? What do they want from me? How will I get back? Will I ever get back? Would I even want to go back?

I guess I'll wait. Time will show what this sick, twisted guy will have in store for me. I just wish I wasn't so bored!!

'Wait, duh! I have my walkman!' I finally got into my hat and dug out my walkman on top of my head. I smirked at it in the dark and held it as high up as the bag would let me.

"Haha! In your face, you stalker!" But a sudden stop and swerve set me hard against the....something-a door, back of a seat- and the car stopped.

I rubbed my throbbing head. "OWwww!" I whined and took out my walkman and set the light on. I couldn't see outside the woven threads, but I could tell what the bag's material was.

'How....weird!' I thought. 'I'm captured in a potato sack!' At that thought, I laughed. Really loud too. It was the weirdest thing I have ever heard of (so far in my life anyway. It would get weirder.) And so I dropped my walkman and held my sides laughing like an idiot.

A door opened and I was lifted, but I was still giggling so I didn't notice. And I still had the hiccups. So I was a laughing, hiccupping girl trapped in a potato sack....yeah...You can imagine what it looked like.

Another heavier door closed and the man who captured me started yelling over my noise. I didn't hear though. I mean a potato sack! Come on! It was the silliest thing ever to such a proper girl like me! I was turned upside down and dumped on the ground, head first. 'Now to meet my kid *hic* kidnappers.'

* * *

"OWwww!!" I whined again, rubbing my head and turning serious. I was surrounded by four of the most random and most odd-looking people I have ever met. A large man with white eyes, A green man with black hair, and a tall man with black eyes AND purple hair, and an Oriental girl no taller than my elbow.

When I looked around, the foursome grew quiet. They were all staring at me.....I think. Some were hard to tell having no real pupil.

"What?" I asked, bored that nobody had said anything yet.

They spoke one-by-one:  
"That accent!"  
"Those eyes...."  
"THAT CHEST!"

"Hey! That is no way to speak to a-"

"GURL!" And then the little Oriental tackle-hugged me. The green man started storming around the small room, holding his head angrily. The small girl clung to my neck snuggling against my cheek as the tall one stared off into space. I, however, was in a daze, clung to the ground, and stared at the ceiling....still hiccupping.

"Alrigh' Noodle. Get off her so we can figure what happened, K?" The large man said and picked up the clingy girl by her arms. I stood up, walkman in hand, and looked about the room. It was slender, like a hallway, surrounded by elevators, a large TV, and a desk with one of those techy lit up screens.

The people in the room were crazy. Since two of the four were um....busy, and the other spoke Foriegn-ese and tackled me, I moved my attention to the man with white eyes who stood watching the tall and green ones.

"So, um....hi?" I started, not sure how to talk to a kidnapper.

"Hey, you okay?" He spoke casually, turning his upper body to me.

"Um...sure?" I lied.

"Good." He smiled and turned to me, sticking out his hand. "I'm Russel. Russel Hobbs."

I was cautious when taking his hand. It was so much bigger than mine! I gently took his hand and shook up and down. "Nice to meet you? I'm...Destiny Brooks."

The name rang the obvious bell. "Oh, You're the Child Prodigy's sister righ?"

I nodded and the constant obvious was getting annoying. 'Time to change the subject.' "Yeah. And you're American, I believe? New York? Brooklyn?"

"Yes, I am." He laughed. "Did the accent give it away?" I nodded. "Thought so. You're American, too, right?" I nodded "I knew it. Just so you know, I can tell too." He winked at me and boomed with laughter.

I only gave a weak smile and light chuckle. It's amazing how easily I could have a discussion with a kidnapper! Maybe even murderer! But now wasn't the time to panic. 'Maybe if I keep up this chat, these people won't hurt me....Now what do I say?!'

"So, um....if you're American....how did you get, um....here?"  
'WRONG THING TO SAY!!'

But Russel laughed again, "Its okay, no need to be nervous." He encouraged me and kneeled beside me. "I was working in a record store in Soho when Murdoc-oh, that's that guy-" He pointed to the green man mumbling to himself and pacing around the room. "He bungled me up in a potato sack and brought me here. But some the music he played me convinced me to stay."

I don't know what he was talking about, but Russel and I watched Murdoc as he started running his hands in his greasy hair and pulling at the back.

I scoffed and mumbled to Russel, "You and me, both." Russel just laughed really hard and I smiled up to him. The way Russel acted with me proved that there was nothing to worry about here. He wouldn't cause me harm, so what's to be afraid of? In fact, I felt kinda at home.

That is, until Murdoc started storming towards me and burrowed his eyes into me. "**YOU!**" He roared and surprised me by lifting me up by my hood until I couldn't touch the ground. "You're _not _Derrick Brooks!" Wow, deep accent.

I took Murdoc's finger in my grasp and shook it up and down. "Got that right. The name's Destiny Brooks! Derrick is my twin."

"TWIN?! Aw! You gotta be kiddin' me!" He smacked his face dragging his hand back down and setting my feet to the floor again. Through gritted teeth he growled, "Your twin's the Child Pro-di-j, righ'?" I nodded, slowly. "_Where is he_?" He pronounced slowly almost like I was incapable of speech.

"Okay." I pronounced just as slow back at him. "I'm not sure if you read the news, or watch TV, or talked to anybody outside lately, but Derrick isn't the Child Prodigy anymore, _I am_."

Everyone took the news differently. Russel's eyebrows rose curiously, not really expecting the news himself. The girl-named Noodle from what I heard Russel call her- who was sitting so quietly in a nearby chair didn't care and continued to play her game boy. The other one, tall and skinny, was out of it. His black eyes continued to stare into space with his hands folded neatly behind his back.

Murdoc went back to storming around. I over-heard him mumbling something about a shovel, body bag, and the graveyard out front (If there was one). I'm not stupid, so I pieced it all together.

"Okay, before crazy Mr. Maniac over there follows through with his plan, can someone explain to me why that's such a bad thing?" I asked, referring Murdoc as Mr. Maniac.

"Well, like me, Muds planned on taking the Child Prodigy, your brother, to see his musical skills for himself." Russel explained to me.

After touring your life with your twin for the first few years, you learn the emotion jealousy. People didn't know that Derrick _had_ a twin, let alone that I was just as musically skilled as him, if not better. You know, the whole "Every Instrument Ever Made" thing. So, it kinda gets to you when people think you're not as good, right?

So, I scoffed. "Oh, please. Derrick is no better than playing an instrument than I am." This made Murdoc stop dead in his tracks. "I don't see why you'd want to kidnap him over me. His classical guitar is off, and my jazz trumpet can go way higher than he ca-" Then Murdoc grabbed my arm, mighty violently I might add, and dragged me somewhere.

"Oi! Face Ache! You commin' or what?!" Murdoc called and it seemed to grab the attention of the tall one.

"Oh...righ' ! I knew tat!" And with that, "Face Ache" followed us. Thing was, he wasn't an ache to look at, at all! Even though he had what looked like no eyes, a gap where his two front teeth should be, and an ungainly figure, he was, in fact, quite handsome! Like a movie star or model or something!

'I wonder what his name is...' I thought being dragged.

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OKAY! I'm done. Rate and Message, and words. Sorry for taking long! And where I put purple hair, I meant the first phase 2D cause it looks purple, but its Blue...WTF?!


	3. Chapter 3

**RECAP: Destiny has been kidnapped by Gorillaz! Murdoc to be more specific. He wanted tofind her brother for some reason...? Anywho,She's wierded out by them (Murdoc and Russel actually) but thinks 2D (known as a tall and skinny man) is hot! Now she's being dragged somewhere because she mentioned/bragged that she plays instruments better than her brother. Now what will happen? Read on.**

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_Author's note: Btw, remember that Destiny has been raised by her manager/guardian who doesn't allow her to know about the outside world. rock, lingo, and electic guitars,bases, stuff like that._

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"Just do whatever comes naturally, love!"

At least, that's what Murdoc was calling to me. I don't even remember what happened!

'Let's see...' I thought starting to review what just happened. 'I was dragged from the other room, a giutar-shaped object that was a cherry red color guitar-shaped object that was a cherry red color was shoved into my arms, and now there's a bright light shining over my head, I'm standing on what looks like a stage, and Murdoc, Russel, and what's-his-face are standing in what looks like the Apollo seats!'

_

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_

another Author's note: If you didn't recognize, I was talking about the cinema in Kong Studios. Only I added the stage and LOOK! There's 2D! ...Okay, I'm done.

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"No need to hesitate, girl, just show us what y'all got!" Russel encouraged me, who wasn't doing a very good job as he leaned forward in his seat and putting me in the spotlight...oh, wait.

"What am I supposed to 'show what I got' on?" I interrogated and held up the object by it's neck above my head. "You mean on this? I don't even know what _this_ is!"

"_THAT_ is an electric guitar!" Murdoc screamed back. Looking at the cherry guitar, it made sense now. I silently 'oooh'ed. "You said you can play it!" Murdoc accused.

"Yeah! I can!" I retorted angrily. "But what do I play?"

"Oi! Something! Anything, love!"

"But-"

"FOR THE LOVE OF SWEET SATAN! PLAY!"

"Alright, already!" I said giving up and looked to the wire hooked up to the guitar. 'Well that's new.' I thought and saw that the guitar was hooked to a large speaker. I also noticed that it wasn't plugged in. 'Murdoc, you're some kind of genius.' I thought sarcastically.

I was about to yell at said "genius" but Russel beat me to it. They were arguing over how I was just a little kid and that Murdoc should "take a chill pill." Whatever that meant. Apparently Noodle had run off somewhere cause I just noticed she wasn't there, either.

I then looked at the other guy. I expected him to be staring off into space,instead he was on the egde of his seat, had encouraging eyes and a big smile. He waved a little in my direction and flashed me an eye-closed smile.

I looked around and blinked. I didn't realize at first he was pointing to me. "Me?" I mouthed while involunterily pointing to my chest.

He smiled another eye-closed smile and nodded. He looked like a bobblehead.

'He must be out of it.' I thought, faintly smiling back and waving.

He waved again to grab my attention and I tilted my head at him. It's only normal when a guy like that is grabbing your attention. He held out his hands as though he was asking for something and mothed,

"Go on, then! Go on!"

One could say that I had a moment of understanding, then. I mean, I felt kinda proud. Like the talent I had was actually for some use instead of of being displayed like a monkey in a glass window. Whoever that was really appriciated what I could do, and I didn't even know him! Is that what having a fan is like?

Whatever the case, I smiled genuially (sp) and messed with a few chords before following the cord of the guitar and plugging it into the speaker. When I looked back to Murdoc and Russel, they were still arguing, so they didn't notice what I was doing. I took out my MP3 and messed with some of the wires to plug it into the speaker, too. I found a track that I used for practice and walked back out on stage.

"Hey! I'm ready to start now!" I yelled positioning the first chord.

"Finally! Get on with it, love!" Murdoc instructed, kicking up his cuban heels.

"Stop calling me love!" I yelled and started.

* * *

_Okay, Last one! I promise! For what she's playing, picture DragonForce's (and Guitar Hero III) Through the Fire and Flames. I was thinking, 'But she doesn't know rock or metal' But I couldn't come up with anything better…I fail. _

* * *

It was soft, but fast and exhilarating. I really put heart and soul into it (though I don't exactly know why), as my fingers hit every note perfectly my eyes stared off into space. Kinda like what's-his-face would do, actually.

Both Murdoc and Russel's jaws fell open. The other one...well, he was snapping to a totally diffrent beat and his head bobbed from side to side. You could guess that they were either surprised, dumbfounded, or a combination of the both. I even think I heard Russel's foot tapping! For crying out loud, Murdoc's eye twitched! When I was done, a really enthusiastic applause came from the tall man, but Murdoc glared at him so he slowed to a stop and slumped back into his seat.

'Bully' I thought.

* * *

"That was amazing!"

"Marcie!"

"Like a real perfessional, I tell ya."

"Arigato!"

"Really fast! And catastrophically fantastic!"

"Gracias!"

"Your talent really does stick to your reputation."

"Okay, I've run out of languages, but thanks!" I finished with a smile. Russel and Murdoc came up to the stage and I sat on the edge, guitar swung around my back, and swinging my legs over the side. The other guy...continued to snapping to no beat in the audience seats. "So, now that I've done that, you guys are gonna take me home, right?"

"Ya know Muds, Maybe it wasn't so bad grabbin' Destiny instead of her bro. I mean, Derrick's still out there to take her place, and the odds are better 3 guys to 2 gals." Russel stated, ignoring me.

"Yeah, well even so, she's a kid. And I want someone older. A couple years or so at the least. I mean, look at 'er!" Murdoc stuck out his arms towards me. "She's a runt!"

"Hey! Wait a minute! What're you guys talking about?"

"Well, she's got it all, man!" Russel continued without noticing I was talking. "Looks, personality, talent- not to mention she's got great statis! She'd make a perfect frontgirl!"

"Nah, mate. You're going crazy." Murdoc crossed his arms.

"Guys..?" I attempted again, but they're backs were to me.

"Y'all the crazy one! She's the best of the best, and you know it!"

"Russel?"

"Yeah? And where''s she gonna bunk?" Murdoc argued.

"Murd-" I couldn't even finish this time. What are they talking about!

"Well, we've got lots of rooms! Destiny could pick, for all I care! I mean, she may not like the first room she chooses, like I did, but after being here a while-"

"Woah, Woah, WOAH!" I yelled getting wide-eyed and standing standing. "Bunking? A while? STAYING? Just how long do you plan for me to stay, anyway?" I asked in a panicky tone.

The two exchanged glances. Russel looked to the floor scratching the back of his head. Murdoc pouted and said, "Um...quite a while, ya know? Thinkin' of havin' ya live with us, so there's no confusion too, there, mate."

"What? No confusion? But I'm so confused! I thought you just wanted to see my talents in person and take me back!"

The two blinked, probebly just as confused as I was. Murdoc looked hard at me and explained, "Look, love. We didn't drag ya here for a little day trip. I brought ya here to join the band, I'm makin and I plan to keep it that way for a long time."

I probebly looked like a fish; Wide-eyed, short breaths despriate for air, and a gaping mouth. 'But-' I began thinking, 'But...I don't wanna stay! I wanna go home! I want Derrick! I want my unrecognized life under my brother back! I want my manager and I want to leave!' Wow, did I really think that?

"So you really do want Destiny to join!" Russel noted.

"No, I didn't say that!" Murdoc denied. Um...it kinda went on like that, I guess. I couldn't tell. I was in a daze.

'This can't be happening! This is too surreal!' I mentally slapped myself. 'Okay, get a hold of yourself. Stop panicing and think: You're a 9-year-old girl who has indeed been kidnapped. Now what should I do?'

Eh, I followed instincts.

* * *

"I can't believe how stubborn you are! You _just_ said you wanted her to stay!" Russel argued.

"I did not! I meerly stated that she should stay a little longer! That's it!" Murdoc retorted.

Russel rolled his eyes. "Y'all crazy. I can't believe how headstrong you can be when it comes to your soft spot for kids!" IMPORTANT NOTE!

" 'Course I like kiddies! Never could eat a whole one, though." Russel's eye twitched. "By the way, where is the runt?" Murdoc and Russel looked at where I used to stand, unaware of my escape up the aisles.

"Destiny!" Russel called when he saw me. "Destiny, where you going?" He called when I didn't stop running towards the door.

"What're you sittin' around for? Grab 'er, ya dullard!"

"Wot?" The tall man asked after I ran past the clueless crusaider and out the door. Noodle stepped in the doorway, a guitar in hand, but I ran past her and out the theater-like room.

"Oi, you moron! For the love of..."

"Oops!"

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**Okay, I posted enough for today. It's long anyway. See ya next time, and all that jazz.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, REALLY important but I forgot to mention: She's 8 years old not 7! I lie! Bad me!! Ha-ha, moving on. -_-**

**AND! I found a pic of how I pictured Destiny in human way:**

**.**

**.**

**By the way, yes she is supposed to look a little a Japanese or Chinese or whatever that is. Maybe Hawaiian? I won't tell ;D**

**And as a Gorillaz character: **

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**If you're wondering, yes I drew it myself. I edited it on paint and it sux. I know. Leave me alone T_T**

**Okay, time for:**

RECAP: Murdoc dragged her to the cinema where she was put under the spotlight to be auditioned to join Gorillaz. She had no clue what an electric guitar is though, and Murdoc yelled at her for that. While Russel was calming him down, 2D took the liberty of cheering her up and telling her to go for it! AWWW! Then they started arguing about whether Destiny would make a good front girl and she was O_O because she didn't know that she was going to join a band! She made a mad dash and nobody caught her….yet.

I ran throughout the house, finding a hallway, the elevator room, and finally the front door.

'Ahhhh!' I thought in mock gospel. I opened the door with difficulty, though. British handles are harder than a normal one stateside. I planned to take a few moments to appreciate the wonderful freedom of the outside world, but my green utopia was replaced with grey and black clouds.

"Wooooooooow- Where's the rest of the ground?" I asked myself. I closed the door behind me and walked out to the edge. Then I laid down and stuck my head over the grey stone, causing a stone to fall. It hit off the jagged rocks, broke into tiny pieces, and fell into the abyss.

"Heh heh heh…bye-bye rocky…" I said nervously laughing. It seemed like there was no way to get down, and I freaked! But I was thinking quickly. 'In order to have gotten me here, they had a car.' Soon enough, I found a garage and tire tracks. "Ah-ha!" I said aloud and found a road that curved around the hill. "Yes!" I cheered and jumped around happily until I heard a loud thunder crash. I jumped and rapidly ran down the hill, watching my step, and avoiding the edge at all cost.

When I finally reached the bottom, I was really worn-out. I mean, it was a BIIIIIIIG hill!

I looked back up the mountain and couldn't see the top of it, or the building. It was shrouded in dark clouds and I knew it was going to rain soon. Before I turned around to see where I was headed, tiny pieces of stone fell on my head.

"Took long enough." I said rolling my eyes and turned my body. "Whoa!" I breathed out when I saw a graveyard on my right and a landfill on my left. "Not weird. Not weird at all." I stated, shrugging. I mean, I saw a green man with a red eye. Life doesn't get any weirder than that.

After that statement I ran into the graveyard to avoid the horrible stench of the trash and stepped up to one tombstone. I bent down and looked at the worn out name, realizing, 'Wow! Murdoc wasn't kidding when he said he could bury me out front! Heh!" I smiled at my production skills and- wait…

'Murdoc wasn't kidding!!'

I stood up and ran to the speed of light searching for the tire tracks again. When I found them, they led to an iron gate; the exit! Gates where holy normal light called out for me to return to where things made sense!

"Aaaah!" (Me: Heh heh. Fake gospel). I ran towards the gate and just as it was in my reach, they closed and I slammed into them, forever trapped in this cartoon world.

"Oooww!!!" I complained rubbing my shoulder that was hit.

*Yeah, it hurts doesn't it?* Murdoc's voice came over me. I looked my left and, on the wall where the gate, was connected were a small speaker and camera placed "incognito." I rolled my eyes.

"Let me out, Murdoc!" I said staring intently at the small red bulb.

*Mmmm, no. Not until we make a few negotiations.*

"I don't want to make nego- nega- neg- whatevers! I want to go home!" I said shaking the rattling gates violently.

*Mm, hm. And where might that be?* the voice squeaked again. I stopped shaking the bars, leaving an echo of the rattling sound. I looked at the ground beyond the gates, saddened. My green utopia of freedom evolved into a bleak world of solitude and running away. Headlines would go crazy. 'Child Prodigy Lost Again!' 'Forlorn Prodigy On The Run!' 'Child Prodigy or Child Waif?'

'When I get out of here I'm going to go…where?' Damn logic!

"Alright, Murdoc, what do expect me to do? Stay here and be forced to play as your headliner or whatever?" I asked the camera leaning on the gates with my arms crossed.

*Well, when push comes to shove, love…* Aw. Come on! I'm so not going there again! *I was merely wondering if you _really_ wanted to go to that old lifestyle.*

I slid down the gates and sat on the ground. "I don't. That's the point."

*So, say _if_ you did get outta here-*

"Can I negotiate with Russel instead?"

*No. If you did get outta here, what'd you do?* He seemed like he really cared. His voice had an enlightened spark of concern…

But then I think of his dirty smirk and evil glare. I'm no sap, so who does he think he's talking to?!

"I don't know." I shrugged. "I was thinking of getting a new home. Start fresh, and find my parents or maybe adoption-"

*You can't do that! You're a kid!* I glared at the small bulb and pouted.

"I bet you, like a thousand bucks I could! Just open the gates!" I knuckled the bar behind me, gesturing he should. When I didn't get a reply, I basically broke down in a fit. I spun around on my feet and shook the gate as hard as I could. "Murdoc, you nob!" I cursed with British insults. "Let me out, you selfish freak!"

"I got a better plan." I turned my head and was incased in another potato sack.

"Nob…dolt…dullard…when I get out…" I mumbled, arms crossed, as Murdoc carried me back up the mountain.

This time when I was dropped to the ground, my upper head was poking out of the sack so I wouldn't escape. I sat on the floor across from only Russel and Murdoc in the lobby and my mouth was covered, so I stopped swearing at Murdoc.

"Murdoc, you've gone too far. She's only 8; she doesn't need to be gagged!" Russel inquired with nervous eyes.

'Aaaw, for me?' I sarcastically thought bored-glaring at the opposite wall.

"Relax, Russ. I just want the bird to listen to my plans." Murdoc lit a cigarette (or cancer stick as I call it) and blew out deeply. Then he knelt in front of me and stared into my glare. A dangerous move, I say. "Listen, runt, cause I'm only explaining this once: You want out, we want you in. It's logical thinking, see? You play with us and you can stay in our gaff as much as you want."

I glared in silence. When I'm annoyed, I do this in silent protest.

Murdoc, not taking the hint, continued anyway, "And there isn't gonna be a gig every other day. I don't work that way. Just an album, music video or two, and then ya chill, get it?"

'Glare. Glare. Don't respond, and glare.' I repeated in my head, however listening. I was sick of shows, true, but living with this maniac what was made this deal impossible!

"Murdoc, get that off her!" Russel shoved Murdoc aside to get in front of me and gave me a gentle look. Surprised by his action, I looked to him with wide innocent eyes as he cautiously and gingerly moved the sack from over my mouth from over my mouth and untied the string. My face was still blank. Why is a man this nice and awesome hanging out with his exact opposite?! (Seriously?)

He picked me up from under my arms and set me upright on my feet with a huge smile. "I'm sorry for his behavior. But what we intend on doing is exactly that. I know that you don't want to stick around, but we could really use your help." He said happily and turned his head to Murdoc. "And I do mean _all_ of us!" He said sternly.

'Russel just changed my mind. It's true that this probably isn't what Derrick would've wanted, but…' I thought over my options, but needed a few answers first. "Do I get rights to privacy?"

"Only when I do." Murdoc retorted.

"What about my stuff?" I wondered.

"We'll send for it." Russel confirmed. I don't know if this was a good or bad thing.

"Last question-"

"Oh, for the love of Sweet Sata-Ow!" Murdoc cried when Russel punched his arm. I gave him a glare before continuing.

"Don't I need some kind of papers? Legal junk and stuff?" I sadly got a blank face from Russel, who I thought would have it covered because he's the responsible one. "So then, you realize this _is_ a _current_ kidnapping?"

"But _I've_ got how to solve that." Murdoc sneered taking out a paper-clipped stack of paper.

"YOU!?"

"And _why_ is that so surprising?" He said angrily and I shut myself up, taking the pen.

I felt like I was signing the deed with the Devil to give off my soul…which I kinda was, now that I think about it. I mean, we're talking about Murdoc here! Of course, I read it before I put my name down for anything. I was taught that by stiff manager. He appeared to be good for something, after all!

"And…done-Hey!" I glared at Murdoc after he snatched it from my hands and looked over each document carefully. "What? You don't trust me?" He shifted his eyes from me and back to the paper. Russel was slumped on the couch, rubbing his eyes. 'He must be really stressed.'

"Ah, ha….uh, huh….Okay, your in the green." He said darkly and dropped the stack of papers. Then he turned to me with a big evil smirk and only his jagged teeth were displayed against his shadow. "Welcome to Kong Studios."

**I'm so done now. Yay! It's complete! Destiny is now a (fake) official member of Gorillaz! Woo! But what happens when she finds out all the crazy and wild stuff in Kong? Example: The Winnebago, 2D and his small attention span, and discovering rock, pop, techno, rap- *gets hit on the head with an upside down cross***

**Murdoc: SHUT UP!!**

**Fine. Review and junks. ******** Stupid Murdoc.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Man, I'm on a role! I'm just sitting here posting one chapter after another of this thing! Yay! I enjoy writing this fanfic and Destiny is a fun character to work. She may seem a little gloomy and pack-rattish now, but she gets better. I wrote up to the part where they visit Japan after recording 19-2000 after all! (That's a very long way.)**

**I almost forgot, I'm writing the fanfic in the same order as 'Rise of the Ogre' lists. For those of you who have it, you can follow along by reading the next segment! Yay! Of course I've added some touches in because Destiny is in the mix (Ex: Music videos), but it basically follows the same structure of formats and stuff. **

**Last, I just checked the whole thingy, and I found out that the links to her photos didn't work. T_T I sorry.**

**Gorillaz version:**

**.com/art/Gorillaz-Me-104289082**

**Human version:**

**.**

**Or**

**.**

**Only with shorter hair. Again, much apologies, moving on before Murdoc gets me…O.o?!!**

The next sound in the room after Murdoc left was Russel's long sigh. "So, that's that." He said tilting his head back, kinda spacey.

"Yeah…I guess." I said with darting eyes, trying to think of a conversation starter.

Russel beat me to it. "You want something to eat?" I shrugged. "Okay…follow me." He stood up and walked to an elevator. I walked after him and we stepped into the box. There were only four buttons. Weird, huh?

"So, if this place is so large on the outside, why are there only 4 floors?"

Russel shrugged and hit button for the 1st floor. "I don't know. We don't even use the second floor. Elevator doesn't go-"

"Wait! Hold it open!" I put my hand in the door and the elevator stayed on the same floor. The tall man then came running at us and fell in.

'Oh, him again!' I remembered and helped him on his feet.

"Fanks!" He said oddly and towered over me, rubbing his head smiling.

"Man, how many times we gotta tell ya to tie ya shoes?" Russel said pointing to the source of his tripping in.

"Uh, righ'… I knew tat!" He said and ducked down to tie his shoes.

'Wow, that's some purple hair.' I thought staring at it as though I've seen it before. Then Russel coughed for acknowledgement.

"You know we got a guest, man." Russel sighed, but the man kept slouched over his feet. "At least say hi."

"Hi." He nodded and I had an awkward feeling as I did when I met Russel.

"Um…hey."

"2D and you?" He said and I gave him a curious look. The bell rang for the first floor and Russel left us. The new man stood up and gave me a smile. "Sorry. I meant, wot's your name?"

"My name? Destiny."

"Oh! Tat's a pretti name!" He smiled a-um…- eye-closed smile (I think) and started walking away. Name….oh!

"Wait a minute!" I got out of the elevator and he turned around. "I never got your name." I said sheepishly smiling.

He pulled his eyebrows together and stared at me. "Haven't I told you befor'?" I thought really hard and shook my head. "Oh, my bad! I'm 2D. I sing and uh…" He gestured as though he was playing notes over some keys.

"Piano?"

"Yeah, tat's teh one!" He smiled and turned around walking again.

I did the same to where Russel had gone. 'I guess he did tell me his name when he was bent over his shoes…why didn't he know that though?' I thought curiously.

"Hey. Deaftiny," He said weirdly and I turned around. 2D's head was already poking out of the corner.

"Destiny. And yeah?"

"Are you sure I didn't tell you my name befor'?"

"Uh, yeah!" I corrected myself referring to the elevator, but he must've misunderstood me.

2D scratched the top of his purple head in confusion. "Oh…I though' I did…" And with that, he vanished.

"So, 2D's name is 2D, but it refers to his eyes, not dimensional, Murdoc is 'the antichrist' but he lives in a Winnebago, not…er, down there. And the one you call Noodle…" I reviewed. "She only speaks Chinese?"

Russel finished his root beer and smiled. "Close enough." He laughed. "Noodle's Japanese. Not Chinese."

"Ah. Gotcha." I nodded and took another bite of my bacon and eggs. But ya know, breakfast at 8:00 PM…I'll have to get used to the weird stuff. "So what's her story? Did Murdoc kidnap her, too?" I remarked, sarcastic.

Russel laughed, "Na. We posted a flyer for a guitarist who knew what they were doing; Noodle just arrived in a big FedEx crate the next minute."

"JetEx." I corrected with a mouthful of eggs.

"No, it's actually called FedEx. For Federal Express."

"Really??" I asked finishing my brinner. Or deakfast. It's arguable, really. "Shows whatcha know after 8 ½ years of undermining." I finished my meal with a glass of root beer, finding soda the most delicious beverage in the world! "Thanks again for the meal, Russel! I didn't know root beer was so great!!"

He laughed, amused by my unintelligence of the real world, as Noodle walked in. She was holding a small grey box that was electronically controlling a gorilla. I had no clue what it was.

"Konichiwa." She causally said to Russel. Then her fingers moved over the grey box and the gorilla rammed the counter. A cup of instant noodles that was unnoticeably spinning around inside a microwave fell out and landed in her hand. It was such a perfect display, that you'd almost want to applaud. 'Cool.' I thought.

When she turned around and started heading out the door Russel said, "Hey, Noodle. Look who's the new front girl of Gorillaz." She turned her head and her slit eyes (I love Noodle, so don't yell 'RACIST!!' at me. I actually love everything Japanese and Chinese.) landed on me. Her eyebrows lifted and a huge smile played across her face.

"Um…konichiwa?" I said in mock Japanese.

"GURL!" She said again and jumped at me with her arms out.

"Not again! Not again!" And I fell out of my seat with Noodle's arms around my neck. She kept making happy sounds and was snuggling next to my head. I just hoped this wouldn't happen every time I met her. "Noodle?" I asked, but she was still secure on me. "Aw, come on! I'm losing circulation!" When I stood, I tried to get her off my neck, but Noodle moved to my arm, smiling a cute face at me. "Why does she tackle me every time she sees me?" I asked Russel with my arm lifted and Noodle hanging off the ground.

"I don't know." Russel smiled at us, scratching his chin. "Maybe 'cause she's been the only girl in the house for a long time." He laughed when I shook my arm and Noodle bounced with it.

"That would explain why she calls 'girl' when she sees me." I assured setting little Noodle on a dinning chair. She sat smiling at me as I crouched down in front of her. Then I stuck out my hand and pointed to her chest. "You, Noodle." I said and pointed to my own body. "Me, Destiny. Understand?"

"HAI!" She screamed and violently shook my hand speaking something I didn't understand. I started to shake.

"Noodle really likes you!" Russel smiled across the table.

"Probably because I'm the only normal one around here." I said, removing my hand from Noodle's grip. "Speaking of normal, what's so weird about you? Besides your unrealistic kindness and white eyes, you're not really suited to be in this band."

Russel laughed as he started to clean up the dishes of brinner. "Well, thanks Dest', but I'd like to argue with my standing of being weird." He dumped the dishes in the sink and handed Noodle the cup of ramen before continuing. "Ya see, I've got quite a lot of spirits in me; One of 'em being my best friend Del." He said poking his head.

"Well, I'm not surprised." I grabbed his head and examined it on all sides. "Your head is so big! I bet there are lots of ghosts in there!" This made Russel boom with laughter at my childish antics. He's a really nice guy.

So for the next journey of Kong, Russel retreated to his room and I have no clue where Murdoc went. He told Russ something about the legal crap I signed, though. This left me with Noodle, whom I hung out with for the rest of the night. She showed me around the building and its many rooms that were either unused, really big and unnecessary that would be in a rich man's house, or locked. And believe me; a lot of them were locked. And, obviously, weird.

When it was 9:00 I began to wonder where I was going to stay since I'm living here now. So I departed from Noodle, who went to bed, and made way towards the elevator. 'Russel should be asleep, so I'll try to find Murdoc.' I thought and with that, hit the button for the ground floor. The elevator gave a kick and sent me lower. I stepped out and turned left, ending up in the Cinema lobby.

'Wait…' I thought, looking around. 'Duh, I turn right from the elevators to get to the carpark.' I sighed and jogged back to the elevators. After making it to the carpark, I found an odd looking van with a badly spray-painted 'KEEP OUT!' sigh on the front. 'Oh, look! Wonder who lives there!' I thought sarcastically and bound in front of the house on wheels.

"Murdoc!" I called and knocked hard on the sign. "Murdoc! I need a room key or something…um…where am I going to sleep?!" After a moment of silence, I slammed both palms on the glass, but the door eerily opened towards me.

'Explore!' No. 'Yes!' No… 'Yes! Yes!' NO!

'Explore you multi-celled fool!' I screamed in my head and regretfully pulled the Winnebago door completely open. A nauseous gas mixed up of cigarette smoke and alcohol puffed out and I started to gag.

"I will _KILL_ you, Murdoc!"

I stepped into the winne, as layman's terms put it, and boy was it a wreck. IT was a horrible collaboration of the 50's, 60's, and 70's (possibly Murdoc's childhood). Like Gene Simmons came in and puked all his records in this van. Murdoc just happened to live here.

(Me: NO OFFENSE TO KISS! I love them. She just doesn't.)

I walked around exploring around the Winnebago. I felt like a Hung-over Dora. I was mostly crept out by all the Satanist stuff and a weird turtle rug that was laid out on the floor, and then I scratched up a record of the Human League, whoever they were before I found a set of master keys that was a large ring of keys to various Kong rooms. I grabbed that and the record and ran out.

(I feel nothing when insulting Dora.)

'Air! Air! I need air!' I thought popping out the door and shut it with my foot. I leaned on the Winnebago taking all the necessary breaths. 'That is the _LAST_ time I walk into that van!' But I had toe master keys, so it wasn't a total waste of time.

The next thought I had was to ask 2D where I should sleep now that I had the freedom to choose with the master keys. 'He seemed like he was a nice guy, maybe he can help me out. At the very least I can waste some time with him while waiting for Murdoc to come home.' I recall Noodle telling me that 2D's bedroom was in the basement.

'QUICK! To the elevator!' I walked there in a slump.

The elevator doors opened and I was greeted by a thousand computers all blinking weird photos or running screensavers. It was all heaven to me. My eyes darted around so much, I felt like my brain was changing channels. 'How did I-' I began and smacked my forehead. 'Damn this weird house!' I cursed and retraced my path back to the carpark.

Okay, I got lost again. Don't blame me. Shut up. I know.

I knocked on the door in the carpark to 2D's room and heard nothing in return. "2D?" I asked pressing my forehead to the door. It was well past a young girl's bedtime, so I was tired and stressed. "C'mon, 2D. Please don't do this. I reeeally need you."

It seemed to work because the next I heard was a heavy object fall over and a door creak open. "Be there in a sec!" He called. This was followed by rushed footsteps and finally 2D appeared in front of me. "'Ello, then!" He said holding the door open.

"Hey…I, um, kinda have a problem." I said, scratching the back of my head. "See, I don't know where Murdoc is, and Noodle and Russel went to sleep, I got lost in the halls, barely made it out of Murdoc's Winnebago alive, and now I don't know where to go to sleep." I said rushed and worried.

2D stared at me a few seconds and then raised an eyebrow. "Oh! Well, come righ' on in!" He invited, smiling and opening the door wider.

"Um, thanks! I guess…" I walked past him as 2D looked both ways out the door before closing it and descending downstairs.

"By the way, I don' fink I told ya my name yet!" I gave him a twisted look of confusion and stupidity. "I'm 2D, Just so ya kno'. And I sing-"

"But you already introduced yourself at the elevator a few hours ago." I mused and stepped down to the floor of the basement in front of his room.

2D gave me the same look of confusion as before where he pulls his eyebrows together and stares at me. I nodded and 2D tapped his chin, staring up. "Wot was I doing a few hours ago…?" He mumbled.

"Never mind." I sighed and 2D stepped over the last few stairs with his long legs and reached the door in one step. He took full grasp of the handle and smiled vigorously at me.

"Well, here it is!" He said and pulled on the handle. It didn't open, but kind of…clicked. 2D frowned at it and pulled a couple more times.

"What're you doing?" I asked as he placed his feet on each side of the door frame and pulled as hard as his skinny arms let him.

"Well, sumtimes the door kinda sticks, see? I dropped soda on it once, so ya gotta-"

**WHAM!**

The door bolts open and smacks 2D square between the eyes, causing him to fall head first to the floor.

"2D!" I gasped and put his head on my lap. "Are you alright?"

"…Ow." 2D stated, matter-of-factly. "Tat didn' hurt too much…but still." He had a small imprint of the door on his forehead and he was rubbing it with raised eyebrows. Like he had a headache, or something.

"Is there anything I can get you?" I asked pushing some hair out of his face.

"No fanks. I got everything I need in my room." He stood up and helped me on my feet. Then he smiled (for the 50 billionth time that night) and gestured a hand to his room. "Well, come on in, Dest'! Don' be a stranga!" He said confidently.

'Now he remembers my name?' I think, entering his room while saying a quick "Thanks," to him. 'I wonder if that hit to the head did something…'

I looked around the cluttered room. On the floor was a sea of clothes and other objects, but I heard rumors that a boy was a messy creature, so it didn't bother me. The walls and carpet were blue, but his bed sheets were…orange? And what were the rectangles that lined his walls? They're white with black strips, like a piano, but they're too small to be. And what's with the giant TVs!?

2D sat in front of one of the rectangular piano boxes and I started to pick up pieces of sheet music, shuffling through the unfinished songs. 2D was holding the only one that was complete. "Hey, 2D…" I trailed off attracting his attention.

"What is it, love?" He asked, making me blush and look to the floor.

"I-I was wondering…what you had in your hands."

"Oh, tis?" He held up the paper and I nodded from under the brim of my hat. "These were, uh…a song that…Murdoc and I were tinkering wit for a while…um, it's not done yet, though…" The idea of new songs inspired my interest and I sat in a yellow chair beside him.

"On what…this piano-thingy?"

"Uh…it's a keyboard." He said like it was obvious and roamed his fingers over three notes.

"And…a keyboard is a…?"

"Well, haven't ya seen one befor'?" He asked like I was stupid. Which, to be honest, I kinda was when it came to…this thing.

"So, it's a kind of piano…right?" I asked, realizing the obvious.

"Yeah! Do you play?" I nodded at him.

'He's must be either messing with me, really thick, or completely deprived of daily news to not know that.' But that was beside the point. "So, it's an electric piano? Like the guitar I played on the cinema stage?" 2D nodded happily and I smiled at my progress. "Do you know how many other instruments are, like…electric?"

"Don' you already know about electric instruments?" I shook my head and 2D's eyes widened. "Not even…drum machines and stuff?!"

A drum what? "Well, no." I blinked. "I didn't know you could electric stuff. I was really brought up to avoid instruments and music like that. I've heard of 'rock', but only this one band called _Simple Plan_. My old manager didn't like rock, so I only play classical, opera, a little jazz, and…some…"

I trailed off when 2D started to get really nervous, or upset, or something because he was really jumpy. "Oh, my God! You gotta listen to some of my ol' CDs!" I blinked and 2D was already across the room, digging in a corner filled with old tapes. He took an armful out and picked out one on top. "Here's a, uh…" 2D trailed and turned the case over. "Um, this is actually an ol' cassette I had back when I was a kid. I don' know if you still wanna listen, I mean-"

He had me at kid. "No, I still do. Please, feel free!" 2D nodded and put the tape in an old radio player on the floor.

(Song: So Here We Are by Bloc Party. An Amazing Song)

I was paralyzed with the sound of the song. It was so amazing and vivid, new yet repetitive. With such mellow vocals and a great drum beat. It was so peaceful; I laid out on 2D's bed and closed my eyes. The base line was so faint, but it touched my heart. This was the greatest song I've ever heard (Me: This is my favorite non-Gorillaz song.)

I sat with all my senses shut off. The only thing I saw, heard, and felt was the music. 2D must've been confused or something at the way I just laid still. The feeling that I was getting from the song was unimaginable. I didn't even know music could sound the way this song did! I was almost, like, being pulled out of dark water by a big hook, and as I was, the rush was calming my body to the rhythm. The finale, or song's ending, was the bright light ashore. I realized…the past 8 years…I've been missing out.

**I'm done! For now…on to the next chappie! I'm very happy actually. I just looked at the Shikamaru One Shot and it's already got 100 hits! I only posted it a few days ago, too. Fanks again and review and crud.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Did the link work? *Checks* ....Okay, new approach: in deviantart my account is gogorillazgone. look that up in google (or summink) and its the only picture that's posted. THAT IS Destiny as a cartoon.**

**Then, if you google 'Kayna 9 ' THAT IS Destiny as a normal human girl.**

**Anywho, I kno that this is taking long. The first 5 chapters are all one night, after all. Sorry. You should see it in my notebook. It took up, like, HALF OF MY NOTEBOOK! (And I write relatively small…) The point I wish to emphasize is sorry and I'm gonna try to squeeze more into each chappie, maybe shorten the longer details. By the way, I just want to remind everyone that Destiny is a total techno geek. She loves her MP3 player, computers, and that's why she's so fascinated with electric guitars and keyboards. Enjoy this segment!**

RECAP…Destiny has discovered good music and good music is Bloc Party (DAMN STRAIGHT!!). She was wandering and found a group of keys in Murdoc's Winnebago (that she escaped from…O-o?!) And went and checked up on 2D. He's a nice chap, after all. Then WHAM! A blow went to 2D's noggin, and he strangely could remember Destiny's name when he couldn't the 5 seconds before hand. Makes you wonder what else that blow to the memory could've brought back. (HINT HINT!!)

* * *

It wasn't until after the song was finished that I remembered I still had the keys to the building. "2D," I yawned and stretched out on his bed.

"Yeah, Love?"

"Stop calling me that." I bluntly got that over with. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay? I'm gonna find a room to stay-"

BAM!

"YOU!" I heard another croaky voice from behind me; Murdoc.

'Uh, oh.' I thought and turned around as Murdoc grabbed the front of my collar and stormed out, slamming the door behind him. 'Poor, 2D.' I was then slammed against a wall and pain shot my shoulder that I was lately getting slammed on. "Owwws!!"

"Listen, you! I've been looking everywhere for ya!" he said pointing a long green finger at me. EWW!!

"I was in 2D's room. I tried looking for you, HOWEVER," I pointed back at him. "**You** weren't in your Winnebago!"

Murdoc drew back a little…kinda, sorta. "You went in MY Winnebago?!!" He slowly started to grit his teeth while saying that, at the same time, starting to squeeze my body against the wall with his fist.

"Ow, Pain! Ow, Pain! Ow, Pain!" Was all I kept repeating under his massive grip. Then the wall left me completely and I was thrown over Murdoc's shoulder. "Ow, ow, ow, ow!" I complained at the fact that he was holding me on his shoulder in his death hold. He swiftly walked somewhere and then threw me in a dark room, closing the door behind me. I rubbed my squeezed upper arm, complaining some more.

"**Never** go in my Winnebago again!" He yelled on the other side of the door.

"**I** wasn't planning to!" I screamed back and looked around as to where I was. 'A closet.' I concluded. 'Great. Welcome to Kong, then!'

But even though I spent hours in the closet and didn't come out until Noodle found later the next day, I wasn't mad at Murdoc. Well I was mad at Murdoc, what I mean is, I wasn't thinking of him. All I was doing was playing the song 2D showed me over and over in my head.

'What other music could be out there?'

* * *

So that was my first night in Kong with the Gorillaz. I do admit that this group of strangers (both new people-wise, and new in my life-wise) proved to be untrustworthy, some of the group members were trying they're best to make me feel comfortable. After all, I wasn't ready to just go and trust my life in the hands of the same people who bagged and gagged me to the house, am I?

Then after about 4 long days, a truck came pulling up the mountain and everyone rushed out to greet it. I stood in the doorway watching, scared and curious as to what this could be.

"This is the truck with all your new stuff, Destiny." Russel explained with a soft smile, and took my hand in his. "We just want you to feel natural and relaxed here with us, so we got you some stuff to make you feel more at home."

"Hey, runt! Get out here and move your junk inside before I toss it into the landfill!" Murdoc's voice rang just killing what Russel said. I looked up to him with big eyes and he sighed heavily.

Noodle anxiously watched me jumping up and down beside 2D who was fiddling with opening the combo. When he finally got it to unlock, Murdoc pushed the garage-like door open, revealing that the whole truck was stuffed with cardboard boxes that stacked on top of each other, a dozen of feet tall.

"You got all this stuff…just for me?" I asked absently examining the towers and Murdoc, 2D, and Noodle all started to bring them in.

Russel walked beside me and brought me into a reassuring side-hug. "We did, Destiny, to show you how much having you in the band means to us." He then got a box and turned around to me again. "We really are happy that you're here. Now, you wanna help us move some of this stuff?"

I nodded and got a box out. After a few minutes, the combined efforts of the five of us were able to clean out every nook and cranny of the truck's cargo. Murdoc gave the okay to start opening stuff and we pulled out all the random stuff that was in there. I gave a little comment whenever somebody would ask me my opinion. A weird example of these moments would be like:

"Hey, Destiny, do you like this shirt I picked out for you?" 2D asked happily holding up a green hoodie that had the words "Born to Die" in black gothic font on the front and a picture of a group of zombies on the back.

"I appreciate the fact that you know of my sense of fashion, but…I don't really understand the shirt." I stated wondering what the comment meant. 2D looked at it and shrugged as if nothing was wrong and continued to unpack the box.

Neat piles were eventually set up. Mostly of clothes and foodstuffs that I told them I like to eat, but also of instruments that I play and some odd new recording objects. Headphones mix boards, a 5-track (I didn't know what they were at the time), and other stuff I didn't know.

I felt truly blessed. This group of people was doing so much for me, and I felt like I wasn't doing much in return.

'This is just necessary living stuff, Dest'.' A hollow voice from deep down that I call thoughts told me. 'It's nothing special. It's not like they're spoiling you with a room. Remember you don't have a room?'

'Oh, yeah. Where am I going to put this stuff, then?' I, myself, thought and dragged another box to my body. Sitting on the floor, I took the knife from beside me, twirled it a little bit, and stuck it in with a bored look. I cut it down the tapeline, unknowingly being watched by the members of the household who had big smiles. I lifted the flaps and gasped at what was inside.

It was a brand new laptop. It was a stylized Tablet PC where the screen can rotate to become a touch screen. It was sleek; black and silver, slim, and it came with a digital pen to use the touch screen with. It was perfect for me.

I gingerly held it with both hands and looked to it in awe. "This…this is for me?" I asked, looking to them. Russel, 2D, and Noodle nodded, Murdoc sat with his arms crossed leaning on the wall with a look of 'You better like it'. I smiled softly with relaxed eyes. "Thank you. So much. I…Well, to be honest; I don't know what else to say." I admitted and smiled to them reassuringly.

"Yeah, just don't go and be gettin' any ideas now!" Murdoc quickly added. "That's strictly for business, which means it's not like we're giving it to you cause we like you or whatever. It just means that-Oof!"

He was interrupted by Russel as he elbowed Murdoc's side with his elbow. Russel gave him a small glare and smiled to me. "We hope that this proves to you how much you're stay means to us." He explained for the thousandth time. It was kind of getting tedious.

"Don't worry, this does. All of it does. I'm just concerned with where I'm going to be putting all this." I hinted to Murdoc.

"Now don't be getting ahead of yourself! A room in this building is _earned _not thrown away!" Murdoc told me and I nodded officially.

"Whatever you say, sir!" I said sarcastically making the others snicker. Murdoc didn't get the 'sarcastic' part and simply took it as a sign that he was boss. Whatever.

* * *

A few more days passed and it rolled into weeks. I became more situated with the Gorillaz cast, whom I later discovered don't have any traits to not trust. They're not even really qualified to be kidnappers, actually!

2D and I became great friends. Since Murdoc didn't supply me with a room, we would stay in the basement late at night he would tell me all the stories he had about fairs and what they were like since he grew up in one. At least, I think that's what you do at one. In return, I would tell him of the many places I've visited as the Child Prodigy. Even though he is a bit thick and I have to remind a few times about a lot of stuff…um, everything, 2D is a great friend!

Noodle, although barely understandable, became my sister that I never had. She was my best companion and rock-out partner. She even taught me some karate and Japanese and it was her who supplied me with clothing the first few days (even though they were a few sizes too small). I taught her some basic and helpful English like "yes" or "no" and "I'm hungry." Just so we could understand her bodily functions. It was especially fun when she would invite me for sleepovers and I didn't have to sleep in the lobby!

Then there was Murdoc…um…yeah. Our relationship has improved, I guess. He would supply me with basic needs-though I've yet to possess a room- and teach me all the new songs. Since he also kind of saved me from a world tour I didn't want to participate in, I owed him. A lot. So, I still try to befriend and please him (without involving my entering his Winnebago, at all costs! That place stinks!!) by sometimes calling him 'boss' or 'sir.' It was very hard because I'm still on "probation," but at least he stopped throwing me in closets and pinning me to walls.

Lastly is Russel, whom has become closer to me than all three combined. He was my father-figure…almost. That is, he would be if he wasn't my best friend. Russel always spent time with me and watched me grow and develop; both physically and musically. He was my protection from Murdoc, too. Even though I'm not really allowed, Russel would always find a way to sneak me in a room to sleep in at night.

I really am in favor of Russel. In fact, only after 3 months, Russel officially adopted me as his foster daughter. So now I'm to be addressed as Ms. Destiny Hobbs, Gorillaz front-girl and former Child Prodigy.

* * *

So after 5 uneventful months of Kong, I've grown to embrace three things; my new laptop, from which I've lived off of and use in editing new songs, weirdness, obvious explanation. I've somehow become a tomboy, rocker, still bored, young girl. And lastly music.

The music I've been shown and listening to, is the best. And there are so many genres! Rock, rap, reggae, ska, pop, metal, pop, metal, dub, hip hop, bubblegum j-pop- the list is endless! I've mastered all types of genres (with Murdoc, Noodle, 2D, and Russel's help of course) and play an even wider variety of instruments including drum machines, everything electrical, and a sound board to it all. My personal favorite though is still songs with bloopy noises in them. 2D showed me those kinds.

* * *

**Okay, so this was the "now and forever, this is how it's gonna be" kind of chapters (with the exception of the first portion.) But now I'm going off to type up the next chappie! Why not put them all together, you ask? Because where things leave off and come back kinda work better. I think it works better than to place an unexpected cliffhanger, right? Everyone hates cliffhangers! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Finally I can make use of my Japanese/English dictionary! Lol. I'll just put what it means in English in parentheses.**

RECAP! Destiny's first night was spent in a closet. -_- Then, she found out she's not getting a room until she proves she's with Gorillaz 100%. Gorillaz got her a whole bunch of new clothes and a new laptop so that she would feel welcome! Awww! Then I typed up a review of how she felt about each Gorillaz member which is too long to summarize here…MOVING ON!

* * *

"So, why are we installing these cameras in every room again?" I asked Russel who lifted me into his shoulders. I then reached into the corner of the ceiling and screwed in another camera stand.

"Murdoc wants the band website to consist of the rooms of Kong with a lot of links and games, and other clickable stuff for the visitor." Russel reminded me.

"Problems with that idea." I stated jumping to the floor of the Café and facing Russel again. "One, I don't have a room, and B) …wait, Two! Two, we're still undiscovered talent."

"You mean, Noodle, Murdoc, and 2D are still undiscovered."

I blinked, confused. "Ah, yea- Wait. **Only** 2D, Murdoc, and No-"

"My drumming is quite popular in the states." Russel stated proudly. I blinked again, complied. We stepped into the elevator heading to the Bowling Alley, to install yet another camera, but our plans didn't include Noodle.

"Mistake! Mistake!" She cried, pointing frantically in an unknown direction. Russel and I knew that meant there was something wrong. She directed us to a lounge room cluttered with a sofa, TV, and other undesirables (Think of the room from 'Hey! Our Toys Arrived!') where we were previously in the corner and Noodle was watching Pokemon.

"What is it, Noodle?" Russel asked when he discovered nothing was wrong.

"Nannano?" I repeated. Noodle pointed to the large TV with a newswoman. She was telling a story of some important government meeting. "Anata ga nani o itte iru no ka wakarimasen (I don't know what your talking about.)" I explained in Japanese.

Noodle's head darted between us and the TV behind her. "One minute!" She us in mock English and sat two inches away from the TV. Russel and I watched the politics and another news story came on. We looked to Noodle finding nothing of interest.

"One minute!" She called again and we watched a story on the pH level of most fish tanks. By now I decided to sit down on the sofa behind Noodle. Yet another story came on. "One minute!" Noodle repeated. We watched a movie poll.

"One minute!" Hot dogs.

"One minute!!" Mime Strike.

"One minute!!!" **AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!**

* * *

"Noodle…" I muffled in the pillow. "What do you want us to-"

"One minute!" She cried again and I groaned into the pillow that I was face-planted in on the couch.

"Noodle, what's ya want us ta see?"

I lifted my head to find 2D sitting at my feet. "2D, when'd you get here?" He shrugged and TV's voice came over mine.

"Now! Now!" Noodle jumped repeatedly pointing to the screen. Russel woke up from his nap in the doorway and we all focused on the new story.

*…And the search for Destiny, the world's most famous Child Prodigy, continues rolling into it's 5th month.*

"What?!" rued when I saw a picture of my face hovering beside the anchorman's head.

"Tat's a nice picture of ya-" 2D managed before I shushed him and crawled next to Noodle.

*That's right. We now take you live to the Child Prodigy's manager, Mr. Martoche.*

"WHAT?!"

"Nani?"

"Shhh!" I repeated. An image showed of my old manager with lots of microphones in his face and the clicks of cameras with flash settings. He stood outside the very hotel room that I had my life changed at.

*Mr. Martoche! Mr. Martoche! What are your thoughts towards Destiny's disappearance?*

"I'm devastated. First, her brother went and now her too, is too much for me. She was like a daughter to me and losing her is like losing a piece of my soul.*

"WHAT?!"

"Nani?"

*I promise that I will stop at **nothing** until Destiny is back on tour, safe and sound!* He said in a determined and obviously fake voice. *I miss her with all of my being and losing her is like-*

"Well, **that** sounds like a load of bull. Even to me."

"'Ey, Murdoc, when'd you get 'ere?" Murdoc shrugged at 2D.

"Wait a minute, y'all. Where's Destiny?" Everyone shrugged.

* * *

*Breaking News: Destiny, the Child Prodigy, is safe. We have her LIVE in the studio with her story of her amazing return.*

"WHAT?!" Murdoc spat.

*Hi! My name is Destiny, the Child Prodigy, and I want everyone to cancel the search for me, please." I laughed in a cutesy way.

"**What** does she think she's **doing**?!"

"How'd she get there so fast? Ow!"

"Shut up, ya dullard!"

*Destiny, what have you been doing the past 5 months of your disappearance?* The man sitting across from me asked.

*Well,* I smiled from my over-large armchair. *I haven't "disappeared" more like take a break. I mean, being the Child Prodigy is hard, and I was going on a world tour! I just decided this is too much for me, so I just decided to take some time to cool down.*

"Good answer." Murdoc glared at Russel for speaking.

*So now will you resume your prodigy tour?*

*No way! I've undergone new management and my new manager-who is way nicer to me than that other creep-told me to chill for a little bit.*

*Chill?*

*Yeah! In my time off, I've taken some time to expand my cultural intelligence, too! Oh, and I've listened to a lot of other music.*

*So, you're saying people can have higher expectations towards your abilities?*

*Uh…wha?*

"She's blowing it for us! Blowing it!" Murdoc whined.

"No, look! Tey like 'er!" 2D pointed to the man laughing at my childish antics.

*Well, there you have it. Destiny is back and better than ever.*

*Hey, guys!* I waved excitingly in the background.

*How about you go and get some sweets from that table, there, sweetie.* The newsman pointed off screen.

* * *

"Hey, guys! I'm back!" I called from the doorway of Kong. Noodle hugged me, smiling and 2D's face lit up as I walked in.

"Hey, we saw your broadcast from the TV. Not bad." Russel complimented and I thanked him. Then I noticed Murdoc; arms crossed, unreadable expression, and with a toothpick hanging from his lips.

I walked to him; arms slouched, puppy-dog look, and eyes to the floor. "Hi, Murdoc." I mumbled. "Guess your pretty mad, huh?"

Murdoc looked me over and rolled his eyes, groaning. "The press is off your back and you didn't use my name…" He spat out the toothpick and walked by me. "I'll let you off with a warning."

"Yes!" I threw up my arms like a little kid.

"I said with a warning! Don't get all excited!" HE grunted and I saluted really official like. "Besides, we've got business to take care of." Murdoc then uncrossed his arms, revealing a disposable camera.

"How'd you do that?" I asked pointing to the camera.

"Do what?"

"The whole, 'take out a random object' thing?"

Murdoc rolled his eyes at me. "We're **cartoons**, love, doesn't mean a thing." He explained, bluntly and I shrugged. "Now, everyone get close together!"

* * *

"Like this?"

"No! Get on **his** right! Christ!"

"Okay, okay! Geez." I mumbled walking to 2D's right.

We were taking photos to send to this huge record label; something that I've never done before, so I was confused as to posing and stuff like that.

Everyone else seemed to get it perfectly though. 2D stood with a mischievous smile and naturally folded his hands behind him. Noodle stood inches behind him with the remote control gorilla and Russel smiled, positively, with a boom box.

I stood awkwardly with my arms folded across my chest, smiling in an odd way. I felt like some cheap rapper. Murdoc, who had the camera, looked us over, and fell his eyes on me. "No, no, no. You're doing it all wrong-"

"Muds, it's a picture. Ya snap it and its over." Russel defended.

As they argued about the perfection it had to be, Noodle played silently with her toy, and I envied how easygoing she can be. She already knew what to do, and she's never been in a band either.

"2D?" I asked, lightly pulling on his shirt which was a little above my head.

He looked down at me with his eyebrows raised. "Yeah, love?"

"How do you do it? Pose and not feel…" I hugged my other arm, shyly. "Uncomfortable?" I asked.

2D looked at me, curiously. "I just do what comes naturally." He shrugged. "Be yourself, ya know? Act like you always do!" I bit my bottom lip and looked to his feet. He wasn't really helping. "Wait…don' tell me your camera shy?"

I looked up at 2D confused. "I'm wha?"

"Ya, kno! You…um…" 2D started to explain.

"I know what it is, but I mean…if I act camera shy and not the way I usually do…Then what am I like?" I asked looking him in the eye.

"Nice gurl!" Noodle piped up from her gorilla toy. "Nice! Nice! Nice! Nice! Nice!" She sang.

"Yeah!" 2D smiled and scratched his chin. "And…smart. Clever. Cool." He continued staring upwards, as I smiled from his compliments.

"Destiny, smart!" Noodle mimicked, agreeing with 2D even though she had no clue what it meant. "Destiny, _most_ smart in world!"

I smirked and raised an eyebrow at her. "C'mon, Noodle; I'm not _that_ smar-"

"**FREEZE!"**

Murdoc called and I turned around in his direction. "No, no, no, no-! Do that again! The face you just did!" He encouraged me. I tilted my head to one side and lifted an eyebrow, in actual confusion this time.

"Now, er…put, put your hand on your hip!" Murdoc instructed further. I felt a bit awkward with all the eyes on me, but I easily let my left hand hang from my jean loop.

"Good, yes!" Murdoc started rolling on. "Now gimmie a smirk, love, and, uh…pop out your hip!"

"Honestly, what is the point to- Ow!" I rubbed my eyes from the flash and looked to everyone, all blotchy.

"Perfect!" Murdoc screamed and held the camera up with both hands like it was a prize. "Nice work, love. We've got your shot." He complimented me, but I was still in a daze. He and Russel then left the room with Noodle tagging behind. All became silent.

"What just happened?" I asked 2D, looking up at him.

He smiled at me and rubbed my shoulder. "I'm none too sure, but whatever ya did to make Murdoc 'appy like tat, you looked great doin' it."

This was the first time I blushed when 2D spoke to me.

* * *

**Okay, I stopped early but only because the next part is in bulk and this is a great way to end the chapter! Woo! By the way, the picture I was talking about was this:**

**.com/miamaya_**

**Except, Noodle has the gorilla toy to mess with. If you have Rise of the Ogre you'd understand because this is the photo that got them signed. ^_^ I just had to be mean and insert Destiny.**


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm seriously hating the links!!! I explained how to get to the pics I mentioned earlier in chapter 6 (re-edited) so if you care, look in that chapter.**

* * *

RECAP: Noodle told Destiny and Russel about a search party for Destiny that was on the news. Infuriated by the fact that Mr. Martoche was taking false sympathy for her "disappearance," Destiny ran down to the TV station and explained that she was under new management. Luckily, Murdoc didn't get mad at her because she didn't say who her new manager was and got the press of their back. (And because he fell for her cute little pout.) Then Gorillaz had a do-it-yourself photo shoot where Destiny was having problems with finding her inner-self. But after a little help from the gang, everything was cleared up and Destiny may have planted a little love seed that will bloom. (Awww- ONWARD!)

* * *

The next day, Murdoc sent the photos out to some big agency along with a track we've composed and a note. He didn't tell me what it _really_ said, but Murdoc said he "used my name." Whatever that meant.

Since that day, Murdoc's been making us practice more often than usual and noticing more mistakes.

"I just don't want you all to me look like crap, okay?!" He would explain each time.

I wasn't too perplexed about. I don't mess up often when it came to music. Though I was preoccupied with other things, when it came closer to October's descend…

It was an eerie afternoon when I walked down the lobby where my junk habited the corner. I swiped my small mp3 and walked aimlessly around Kong while memorized with guitar riffs and playing solitaire. It wasn't until I wandered past the Toilets did I notice a small gorilla watching me.

"Okay. Not too weird." I thought aloud and noticed it's eyes glowing. "Noodle!" I called walking towards it and putting away my headphones. "Noodle! Your toy is still on!"

When I bent to turn off the switch it came to life and snaked past my legs making various noises. "You're not supposed to do that…" I informed the toy as it sped down the hallway. I tagged after it and roamed various hallways.

When I reached a random and useless hallway, the gorilla rolled into room #11; a random and useless room that was locked when I last toured the hall. The gorilla zoomed in and the door locked and closed behind it.

'Not too weird.' I thought and cautiously walked to the door, nudging it open. I looked about the dark room, calling out, and flicked on the lights.

"_**SURPIRSE!!"**_

* * *

"Wha!" I cried and fell backwards from the shock of the random voices. Random being 3/4ths of Gorillaz.

"Happy birthday, Destiny!" They rang and I stood, taking good time to catch my breath.

"Huh?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"Ya know! Ya birtday!" 2D said showing a hand towards the room. It had a banner with my name on it strung from the ceiling, a couch sitting in the middle of the room (where everyone popped up from behind it), a table covered with food and a huge cake, various listening equipment, and a widescreen TV with gaming systems sitting in front of it.

Then there were people. 2D was at my side, easing me into the room with a goofy smile; Russel with Noodle, both smiling behind the sofa; and Murdoc. He wasn't hard to miss. He leaned, in the corner, on a folding chair next to a table of boxes in colorful papers and bows.

"How did you know it was my birthday? I never told you guys."

"Noodle was messing around on your laptop and found your birthday listed in the user file!" Russel chuckled and Noodle ran to me, laptop held high above her head, and handed me it.

"Thanks?" I took it and put it off to the side.

"Well don' just stand tere! Doncha wanna party!?" 2D asked anxiously.

"I'm sorry, guys, but why would we celebrate? I'm only one year older. What's the big deal?" I asked, eyeing those around me.

They each exchanged glances before they continued. Murdoc was covering his mouth as though to prevent himself from bursting out in laughter. "Well, didn't you ever have a birthday party?" Russel asked.

"You celebrate the day you're born?! Since when?!" I asked and Murdoc seemed to be turning blue.

"Well…forever, I guess." 2D scratched his head. "Haven't ya ever been to a birtday party?" I shook my head. 2D's mouth fell open and he brightened up pulling me further into the room.

"Ya gotta try it! C'mon!" I couldn't say no, so I decided to humor the band.

* * *

After many party activities including cake, watching them play video games (after horribly failing to understand the controller), and random dancing, we all took a break on the couch. 2D put one of the brightly colored boxes in my lap and I raised an eyebrow at him.

"What's this?"

"A gif'!" He stated happily.

"A wha?"

"Gift!" Noodle cried correcting 2D.

My mouth dropped open. "You mean I get presents on my birthday?!" 2D nodded. "Awesome! I love this day!" And with that I began tearing open the box. Inside was a pair of sneakers with a hole in the heel where wheels could be. I saw them on a TV commercial and wanted a pair of my own ever since then. "Thank you _so_ much, 2D! I love them!" I said happily and hugged him.

Then another box was in my lap. This one was just a plain old FedEx shipping box, though. "Mine! Mine!" Noodle bounced beside me as I tore the tape off and flipped the leaves open. Inside were half a dozen packs of Yu-Gi-Oh cards.

"Oh, uh…oops." She giggled and removed them to reveal a huge layer of Styrofoam. "Sumimasen. (Sorry)" She stuffed them in her pocket for later use.

"S'oke." I said and removed the layer of plastic. On the very bottom of the box was a radio helmet, like Noodle's, but it was blue with a thick red stripe down the middle and white ear…things. "Holy cow, a radio helmet! Aw, arigato Noodle!" I turned to her and gave her a hug, then leaving her to look over her new cards.

"Ahem." Russel "coughed" taking my attention. "Now, don't ya get too excited, but look at what I got ya!" He smiled and pulled a rectangular box from behind his back. It was long and covered in pink wrapping paper covered with purple swirls; something a child found fancy.

Carefully I took the rectangle from his arms and laid the top on my lap. The rest was by 2D's legs and I smirked at him. "2D, would you help me in doing the honors?" He smiled and mischievously and we both began peeling off the wrapping paper.

I saw a guitar neck and assumed a new guitar. "Awesome, a guitar!"

"Cool! A new piano!" 2D said when he finished his half. I pulled my eyebrows together when I saw that the guitar neck to a full guitar combined with a long row of piano keys. A lot of different buttons and switches dominated the face and multiple jacks for wires.

"And…this is a…?" I asked and smiled apologetically at Russel.

"_This_ is a one-of-a-kind guitar!" Russel pointed to each doohickey as he explained each function that lied in the cherry red system. "I built this with a clavinet, but I extended the strings that the hammers hit. (If you don't know what he's talking about, google it.) The switches and buttons control the sounds, here. And if you want to play some drum machine or synthesis effects, you move your hand to the keys under the strings. Turn this dial here, and you can play the piano normally." I stared at it in pure awe. "You can thank me when your mouth closes."

I stood on the cushion of the couch and jumped at Russel aiming for his neck. He caught me in a hug as I repeatedly thanked him. Noodle joined in the hug on Russel's side, excited by whatever was going on.

I kissed Russel's cheek with a huge smile. "I love you!"

"You're welcome." He smiled from ear to ear. "It wasn't too hard. Just something I put together in my spare time."

"You have too much spare time."

* * *

A broken coo-coo clock rang 1 'o clock AM from the back wall.

"Uh, oh. Time to hit the hay, huh?" I asked as 2D yawned and stretched in the background.

Russel sighed; not wanting to go to bed yet or something. "Yeah, I guess." He then picked up Noodle's sleeping body and kissed the top of my hat. "Sleep well, Dest'. And happy 9th."

"G'night, Russ." I waved gently at 2D as he followed the large man I call Dad. "G'night, 2D. Thanks again." I stopped after they left for good. I then turned back to the couch and all the presents, but in the corner of my eye I saw the bored glare of the sinister bassist. "Hooray. It's over." I said in mock happiness.

"Whatever, kid. I'll just be headin' off to bed now." Murdoc said and eased himself from the metal folding chair.

"Hey, Murdoc, you got a sec?" I asked when he was close to the door and attaching me to my gifts. "I know you don't care and all, but I'm really happy you stuck around to celebrate my birthday."

A short silence passed before Murdoc responded with his back still towards me. "I almost blew out laughing when you didn't know what the party was for." He admitted.

"Yeah, I know." I smiled removing my shoes and putting them to the side. "It was just cool of you to be there. You must've put off some plans to do that. And I know you don't like me too much and I'm not the prodigy you were looking for, but thanks, Murdoc. For everything."

For a long time Murdoc stood there without facing me. Then he sighed deeply and spun around on a Cuban heel. He walked up to me, glaring in a pitiful way and took something out of his pocket. With his other hand, Murdoc took mine and cupped it around the object.

"Here." He said, dropping his hands to his sides and walking back to the doorway. "Go get cha self some sleep now. You earned it."

I looked puzzled at him as he slouched towards the door. I then focused on the object in my hand and uncurled my hands around it. It was a dungeon key with the words "Kong 19" printed on the length.

Next thing I know, I'm attached to Murdoc's back in a hug with a huge smile. "Thank you." I whispered.

"Happy birthday, love." He said with a smile to match.

* * *

'I can't believe that dirty trader! Giving me a key that leads to no where!'

I wheeled Kong on my heels looking at every door number and having no luck finding 9. The lights throughout the building were dim leaving moonlight my main source of light. Since the elevator stops at level 1, I wandered empty halls for about a half-hour.

Kong, I discovered, is just as unusual as the people who live here. The doors were numbered from the top building, down and so far I found the 1st floor with rooms 12-18 and the ground floor with rooms 1-10. Figures my room wasn't even built.

'Man, the next time I see Murdoc, I am so beating him to a pulp!' I decided and took a break searching down a hall consisting our main TV room and café (AKA, rooms 11 and 12.) My back was to the window and I watched the clouds shadows reflect beyond the carpet.

'What's the use? I should catch some sleep in the lobby like Murdoc told me to.' I thought although feeling the least bit tired. Instead, I took out my MP3 from my hat and held it out in the moonlight. Like a mirror, it reflected the odd glow and I tilted it to examine the rest of the sky behind me.

It wasn't until I reached the window's edge and ceiling did I notice the red painted arrow bending to the center of the hallway's end. I glanced above me and saw a number 6 upside down, but when I tilted my head, it formed a 9 directing to what looked like an attic shaft. And all this was on the ceiling…I want to kill the contractor now.

* * *

Two minutes later, I had stacked various objects such as books, tables, and chairs, to get to the trapdoor above. Standing on my makeshift foundation, I reached up and slid the door in with the rest of the off-white ceiling. It revealed a metal semi-circle with a chain and lock around the turning handle. It looked like some sort of forbidden submarine.

I took out the key from my hat and inserted it into the lock. It clicked open and I untied the heavy chain, throwing it to the floor. Finally, with a drum roll in my head, I turned the handle and lifted the heavy metal door. I pulled myself up the rest of the tunnel and looked about the room. Like the door, above me was a glass semi-circle that replaced the roof of the room.

'I must be in those glass domes on top of Kong.' I decided as I tried to translate the rest of the dark room. 'Light switch. Find a light switch.' I thought and found a breaker box in a shady part of the room. Using my MP3's light, I opened the small door and found a large Frankenstein switch.

'Of course.' I thought with a blank face. Once the light filled the room- from the overhead show lights built in where the glass ended- I found that the cylinder room was spectacular.

It had purple carpet and the walls were blue that surrounded the whole cylinder except for a metal ladder that led to a door to the roof. A king sized bed sat in the back covered with various sized pillows and a desk with various wires for my laptop. A wardrobe and dresser sad against the wall made of a very modern oak wood and three guitar stands were already placed for my guitars (my new keytar, the guitar I first used when I got here, and my original acoustic one).

I felt an invisible tear roll down my cheek from the brilliance of every detail. The view above was the best part and I knew I shouldn't waste it. I flicked off the large switch and lay out on the soft comforter. I plotted every star out before finally sleeping under the full moon's glow.

**Okay, I'm done. Sorry if it's short and my taking so long and if you're confused about anything, give me a click and I'll try to explain. Love ya!**


	9. Chapter 9

_Okay so, sorry I haven't been posting as often, blah blah blah, get over it. Anyway!_

**RECAP: Gorillaz threw Destiny a birthday party!! That means she's 9-years-old now. For her presents, she got her keytar-ish thing, a pair of Heelies, and a radio helmet (gee, wonder who that's from). And Murdoc assigned Destiny her own room! Woo! It's one of the dome thingies on top of Kong Studios. Fun fun. And it's accessed through the ceiling. Excitement, moving on!**

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* * *

**

The next day, I once again went to the Carpark to thank Murdoc for the room, but he shut the Winnebago door in my face. But it wasn't a total waste of time since among the trash that liters the Carpark, I found an old rope ladder that was still in good condition. I have the ladder set up in that ceiling shaft to my room now, so I don't have to set up random objects to get up there now.

In the same day, Russel and 2D (Mostly Russel) helped me carry all the heavy pieces of furniture and other stuff that was meant for me and kept in the lobby to my room.

But later that night, Murdoc gathered all of us to the lobby with the instructions to "wear our most wicked outfits." I wore a simple white hoodie with an old record on the front, jeans, and my favorite hat.

Murdoc disapproved.

"No, no." He said as he smacked his forehead. "You can't go walking around in your normal, baggy, clothes!"

I kept my blank face as I spoke. "This is coming from Mr. Gray sweater, Jeans, and Boots?" I asked rhetorically while slipping on my Heelies.

Murdoc started to retort, but closed his mouth. "At least ditch the hat, will ya? It's not bloody winter anymo-"

"No!" I screamed and held the hat firmly on my head as Murdoc reached to take it off. "This hat is very special to me! I don't ever take it off!" I glared my final warning at Murdoc. He simply lifted his hands defensively and walked through the open doors of the lobby outside, passing by 2D's upset face.

2D was staring at me with concern in his eyes. His eyebrows were lifted and filled with curiosity and his lips were slightly parted, revealing the small gap between his teeth. I'm sure he would've said something before Murdoc started yelling at him.

"'Ey, Face Ache!" 2D turned to Murdoc's voice from the car, Noodle as she skipped outside, back to me, and ran out the door.

"Stupid Murdoc." I complained to Russel, while gathering my laptop and walking out of Kong, locking the door as I left. "Always inconsiderate."

Russel shrugged in agreement. "At least it's better than traveling in a stuffy bus with your old stuffy manager, righ'?" Russel asked like the question had been killing him. I could tell he was still worrying that I may not like it in Kong and want to revert back to being Child Prodigy again. He's such a worry wart.

"Ya, but the situation was different." I said taking his hand as we walked to the swanky compact car that obviously only Murdoc could own. "You weren't there to make it all better, so it sucked." I said, putting a relieved smile on Russel's face as he gave me a side-hug. 'Only for a short while though. I can tell he won't let this go.'

"Sometime tonight, lovebirds!" Murdoc screamed out the car window and I stuck my tongue out at him. In the back, I jumped beside 2D and Noodle, while Russel got shotgun. No offense, but Russel isn't the most comfortable person to sit beside in a small car. In the trunk were our various cases that held our instruments.

"C'mooooooooon, Muuuuuuuuds!" I dragged as I kicked the back of Murdoc's seat like an immature child. I saw his face in the rear-view mirror and he was trying to ignore me. But deep down, I could tell he was pissed, so I stopped. "Don't make us late for our first gig!" I whined leaning over his seat and poking his shoulder.

Murdoc smirked darkly and we roamed at a high speed down the hill.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Murdoc crashed besides a rundown building called the Camden Brownhouse; the location of our first concert. Murdoc asked some agency to come down and take a look at us so it was really important to Murdoc.

We all tried to ignore the churning road sickness from our trip over and grabbed our gear, heading backstage. Murdoc checked us in and smuggled some beers on the way back, too. (How professional.) Noodle was tuning her guitar as 2D watched over my shoulder as I played Mahjong on my laptop.

"You're really good." He complimented and I flashed a grateful smile to him. After finishing a game, I opened Pong and handed my laptop to 2D. He sat with his back to the same wall as Noodle and played aimlessly.

'The lights are on, but nobody's home.' I thought with a smile. "Hey, Noodle." I asked and she peaked up from her guitar. "Doko ni papa? (Where's Dad?)" I asked in reference to Russel.

"Papa hungry." Noodle said pointing at the curtain to where Russel was ordering food from the barkeep.

"Hey, Destiny."

'Wow, I think that's the very first time Murdoc ever used my name.' "Yeah, boss?"

"Want a swig for good luck?" Murdoc asked extending his beer can to me.

I shook my head and took the drink out of his hand. "Don't tell me you're already wasted…" I trailed and Murdoc laughed.

"Takes more than a single bottle to get me hung-over, love." He chuckled, popping the tab of another can. As he did so, my watch started to beep and he looked at my wrist.

"That means-"

"Grab your axe, love; we got a gig to play!" He interrupted, obviously knowing what it meant already. (Me: Maybe beer makes Murdoc smarter….XD) Murdoc walked to Noodle, who was listening to music before Murdoc pointed at her. "Come on, Noodle! You gotta play your part in our conquest to rule the world!" He threw his arms up as he said this with a huge evil smirk.

Noodle stared at him with a blank face.

I held up my keytar with a bored face. "Rock n' Roll time." I said in a mono-tone voice.

Noodle jumped off the floor screaming something in Japanese and ran to grab her guitar. Murdoc gave me a confused look, wondering what just happened, but I shrugged…mostly because I had no clue myself why that sets Noodle off.

I walked in front of 2D spacing out with my laptop and closed the lid of it. "Hey! I was winning!" He opened it again, attempting at bringing up the mindless program again.

I rolled my eyes. "First, how do you win at Pong? Second, we gotta play the gig, 'D!" He stared at me for a long time. "_Now_?" 2D saluted, puffing his small chest out, and got up to go to Noodle.

'That was…peculiar…Now where is-'

"Hot dog?" Russel asked holding one in front of my face, dripping in…something.

"Not now, Russel we got to-"

"Hey!" A deep-accented man with a shirt printed with the word "security" on it called to me, allowing Russel to escape. He waved me over to the curtain and asked between the large smacks of his bubblegum chewing. "You're name's Dez-tiny, righ'?"

"No," I corrected. "It's Destiny."

"Tat's wot I said! Deaf-tin-ny!"

"Destiny."

"Dees-ti-ny."

"DES-!!" I was about to explode, but I waved a hand in front of my face to re-gain composure. "Know what? Call me Love." I said referring to Murdoc's sadistic joke.

The man gave an unreadable face, but didn't give it a second-or in this case, first- thought. "Gather yourself, love! Tat Nor-doc Ick-calls man's looking for ya!" And with that, his greasy face disappeared. After suspecting that he meant to say Murdoc Nicalls (Or Niccals), I crammed with Murdoc, 2D, Noodle, and Russel on the small brick-walled stage that set in front of a crowd of booze-heads. A few spotlights shone brightly on us and I couldn't help but feel butterflies. That is, I felt butterflies until 2D gave me a reassuring wink.

At first everyone was whispering about my presence and how I was on the news a few days ago, but I dismissed that after Russel and I started off the evening with the song 'Punk'.

**

After scary solos and bleeping noises that I contributed to the song, it was over. And all so fast! Noodle complimented my odd machine noises with her fast guitar chords and 2D's voice was like an angel's. I didn't understand what 2D was singing, but I didn't have time to check into that knowing Murdoc was watching my every move.

The reaction from the crowd was huge! Everyone got a great kick out of the song and the applause was roaring. I enjoyed myself playing good old hard rock, (Me: alternative rock, but whatever.) and I enjoyed playing in a group instead of me as a single. That's what I really love about Gorillaz. Is the teamwork we have. Even if Murdoc's a huge jerk.

* * *

**BAM! BAM! BAM! **Were followed by a lot of shouts, myself included…

"What the F?!" I yelled and saw a buck-toothed crazy man with a shaved head and leather jacket holding a gun pointed in the air. I assumed he was the one who shot the three rounds.

By now the whole bar had emptied and nothing was left except a few tossed over tables, chairs, and beers, the crazy guy, the band, and me. Not like I'm throwing a fit, but I was ready to melt right where I stood in fear.

"Whiffy!" Murdoc cried with his arms out-stretched, walking to the guy like he was a friend who hadn't seen him in a long time.

'He knows this guy?!' I wanted to ask, but was too scared.

Apparently, this man was who Murdoc asked to come down and get a glimpse of us. He complimented our band, we negotiated a contract, stupid Murdoc started running off his tongue about what he wanted in the contract, Whiffy waved the gun around, and finally he gave us a contract for EMI records. Sadly, Murdoc didn't know anything about contracts, so I was forced to spend an hour reading over it while Murdoc and Russel talked to Smiffy above me. 2D was on my laptop trying to bring up Pong again, and Noodle was playing her guitar noisily in the background.

"You're kiddin'!" I overheard Mr. Whiffy Smiffy laugh as I read over this. He looked like a real idiot with his feet kicked up on the table and gun in hand. "You're gettin' the kid to read the contract? What are you _stupid _or something?"

"The kid's reading it because she's the one who knows this kind of crap the best!" Murdoc retorted. Does he not realize this was a loon with a double-barreled friend?! "Besides, if anyone should be trusted with this junk it should be the Child Prodigy." Murdoc boasted.

In my peripheral vision, I saw Smiffy take a glance from Murdoc to me through his dark sunglasses. "You gotta be kiddin' me. The Child Prodigy is in _your_ band?"

"Yeah, I joined Gorillaz. You gotta problem with that?" I said, glaring at him. What was I supposed to do? Sit there and let him insult my band?!

He just looked back with an interested, but shocked look.

Since there was no response, I threw the contract back on the table and explained to Murdoc and Russel. (Me: I have no clue what the heck I'm about to type means, so don't ask.) "It's obligation-able. Studio privileges in Kong, 3-year contract, with steady 35% profits. Publicity and side jobs are our responsibility, unless an EMI agent is hired out which extends the contract to a platinum seal. Transportation and Overnight stuff is limited to €25000. Label rights are under Gorillaz and EMI title, thus no copyright privileges." I said in one quick breath.

Murdoc and Russel stared at me with clueless expressions.

I rolled my eyes and explained again, "Good contract. We record in Kong all we want, in the label for 3 years, good money. We do our own thing with interviews, and we don't get an agent. We travel with good money and no one can copy our stuff without asking. It's a good contract." I said in simple English.

Murdoc still looked at me like he wasn't functioning, but I elbowed his side and gestured to the contract. "Oh! Uh, yeah, we'll take it."

"Oh yeah! Not bad for a kid, huh?!" I boasted at Smiffy with my legs on the table. He simply laughed with an amused smirk.

Russel and Murdoc were discussing something behind me that was indistinct, but I was having a glare war with Whiffy, so I didn't hear. Murdoc, then Noodle, then 2D, then Russel signed, and Russel turned the paper to me. I got out a small spray can from my pocket and painted my signature on the line in dark purple ink: Destiny Hobbs Really cool-like, just as Murdoc told me to do to look cooler for the signing.

Whiffy smirked as he rolled up the contract and put it in his leather pocket. "I like your style, kid. Since when did you get to be so rockin'?" He laughed, slamming the table, but I frowned at his immaturity. He was such a jerk.

**November 5****th**** 1998: ****Gorillaz play the Camden Brownhouse, their first concert as the Gorillaz line-up we now know and love.**

* * *

After the signing, we rode the deathtrap of Murdoc's driving us back home and I shuffled back to my room, exhausted.

'Never again…will I ride in a car…with Murdoc driving.' I noted and fell on the bean-bag chair 2D gratefully helped me carry up. I put my MP3 earphones over my head started messing with bloopy noises of what will later be 'Man Research' on my laptop.

Two hours later, around 12:15 AM, loud dance music came through the floorboards, causing me to cover my ears to reduce the base from damaging them. "Russel! Murdoc! 2D! Noodle!" I called individually as I threw on my hat and covered my ears again. "What the heck is going on!?" I went to the attic shaft and turned the handle on the metal opening. The music only got louder as I climbed down the ladder and locked my room handle. 'Just in case,' I thought and took the elevator down to the lobby.

The entire first floor was flooded with random people and the lights were almost completely off. Many were dancing to odd flashing colors and loud music under a glass ball, all squished together in packs. Others were drinking with bottles and plastic cups of unknown liquors, holding a cigarette between their fingers. I squeezed between all the adults, looking for someone familiar. Many of the strangers addressed me and offered me to get me a soda, but I politely refused, kept walking, and smiling a really fake smile, like I was enjoying this.

It wasn't until I reached a random and usually locked arcade room did I see Murdoc. He looked drunk, with multiple girls sitting around him and a drink in hand. I somewhat felt relieved. "Murdoc!" I yelled over the laughing people and loud music, pushing my through the crowd. "Murdoc!!" I called again, but he couldn't even hear me when I was right in front of him. I pulled his heavy body up the collar of his shirt and started shaking him. "MURDOC!!!"

His dilated eyes focused on me and he smiled a mischievous Grinch-like smile. "Destiny!" He said in a slurry voice. "Dest' is, is- is that you? Welcome to the party! Eh…Is it really you there? Dest'? Hel-Hello, Dest'? Yeah, you're there. Well, grab a one of those things….a drink! Yeah! Grab a drink and- Whoa." His head rolls back, snoring.

I let his collar go as he slowly glided back on the couch, obviously useless.

* * *

"Russel! There you are, finally!"

"Yo, who you talkin' bou- Hey! You're Destiny Brooks!" The man said, starting to point me out and drawing attention to us.

"Sorry, you're not who I'm looking for…and it's Hobbs now. Destiny Hobbs." I corrected, escaping the mob and successfully running into four Russel look-alikes. I escaped in a random hall and blew off some steam. 'I swear, if I don't find Russel in the next five minutes, I'll-'

"Hey, Destiny!" Russel yelled right by my ear, making me jump. "What're you still doing up?! Didn't you go to bed?!"

"Russel!" I screamed back.

"What?!" He asked, cupping his ear.

"Russel! I-" Tired of yelling, I glanced around and dragged him through the nearest door labeled "Toilets". "What's going on? Where's Noodle? And 2D? And who're-"

"Destiny, Destiny! Whoa, whoa, whoa!" He stuffed me under his arm, giving me a side-hug. "Calm down, c'mon girl, deep breaths." I filled my lungs and sighed as Russel continued, "Murdoc threw a signing party and received a check in advance of our recording. Noodle, last I saw her, was dancing in the lobby and 2D was chatting with some girl."

My heart fell, for some odd reason, and I wanted to cry at that last part. "So…where were you?" I asked wanting to take my mind off 2D.

"Kitchen." Duh. I should've known that. "Y'all want to go back to bed? Cause that Smiffy creep introduced me to a pretty nice guy. I wanted him to meet my daughter." He said trying to cheer me up, rubbing my arm.

I was still unconvinced. I knew he was trying to include me and make me feel part of the band (again), but I wasn't in the mood. "Na, I still feel a bit tired. I…I'm just not in the mood for a party, ya know?" I looked up to him in empathy.

He nodded. "Do what you want." He instructed and led me to the door. I hugged his large stomach for a final time and slid off. "I know y'all won't be loitering, but if you run into a man named 'Damon Albarn' treat him with respect. Okay?"

I nodded and Russel and I parted ways in the hall. I went back to the elevator and took a final look around while waiting for it. 'Oh, yeah. I see Noodle now.' I thought squinting across the room past the taller people where Noodle was jumping in a circle and/or doing the robot. I laughed watching her.

Noodle was dancing, Russel was chatting away with some guests (plate with the buffet in hand), and-

"2D." I sighed, watching the couple on a wall in each others' arms. 2D smiled down at her and shared a kiss. One that tore my heart.

I stumbled in the elevator when it came. Once the doors closed, I removed the set of keys I had (stolen from Murdoc. Again) and locked the doors. Then I fell on my knees, holding my chest. 'Why do I feel this?' I wondered, biting my lip. 'Why do I feel…betrayed? And…heartbroken?'

* * *

Another hour passed in my room where I was practicing my keytar to a 5/4 beat. Why? I don't know. Murdoc said so, so get off my back.

It was still difficult to position my hands so that I can play chords with my left hand and a piano with my right, but I was quickly adapting. It was a multi-tasking technique that I practiced playing a separate keyboard and chords on a guitar in my lap.

At 2:30 in the morning, my large, safe-like, metal door opened and a skinny man with short blonde hair stumbled in, coughing, and closing the door with his foot. He didn't notice that I was sitting on the floor.

'He looks like 2D…' I thought, silently.

"Man! The whole bloody hall is filled with smoke!" He complained out loud, looking at the door still.

'He talks like Murdoc, too.' I noted. "Hi!" I said cheerfully.

He turned to face me, realizing my presence. "Oh, hey. Sorry for coming in like that." He said looking back at the porthole and scratching the back of his head.

"No, it's fine. It's not like you're bringing the crowd in." I paused. "You're not bringing the crowd in, are you?"

"No, why would I do that?" He asked easing into my desk chair beside me. "I came up here because the elevator isn't working and I was looking for a way downstairs. I saw the ladder down to your room and thought this was some kinda fire escape. Mind if I smoke?" He asked with the cigarette and lighter out.

"Kinda…" I mumbled eyeing it, hoping he wouldn't.

His eyes followed mine and he smiled a queer smile. "Alright, then, I won't." He said courteously shoving the lighter back in pocket and continued watching my practice.

'Nice like Russel?' "Hey, can you hand me that notebook over there?" I asked, pointing to the desk. The man spun in the desk chair around in a 360, snatching the marble notebook while doing so, and handed it to me. "Thanks." I said while I jotted down the date(s) and how much practice time I had (one and a half hours.) and tossed the book aside.

"What was that about?" He asked, rubbing his chin skeptically.

"Murdoc makes me keep track of how many hours I spend practicing." I stated, matter-of-factly. Meanwhile, I was taking out my laptop to work on lyrics.

"Why?" He asked so many questions, it reminded me of Noodle and her curiosity.

"Cause he's a jerk."

"Pardon my asking, I meant why is he interested in your practice methods?"

I glanced at him from the corner of my eye and continued typing. I mean, who was he to ask me this? "I think it's because he doesn't trust me. Now that we're signed to a label, I guess he doesn't want me to mess up the Gorillaz image."

The man's eyebrows lifted. "Oh, you're in the band!"

"Yeah. Why else wouldn't I be?" I asked without thinking.

"Well, ya don't look like you should at a first glance." He said with a smile across his face.

"Probably because I look normal?" I asked, and then started to think. Maybe I really didn't belong in Gorillaz. I mean, if it's to a point where people don't even think I look like I should, what's the point?

"Well, what makes you…weird, then?" He asked.

'What the hell?! Do I, like, need his approval to be in the band or something?!' I thought rudely. "I don't know. I guess its cause I'm the Child Prodigy, and I have nowhere else to-"

"Wait a minute. _You're_ the Child Prodigy?" The stranger asked with a small smirk.

"Yes…"

"Well, isn't the Child Prodigy…a guy?" He asked, referring to my brother. Ugh.

"Not anymore. Way to join the 'I didn't know she was a _she_'club. The other guy…um, my brother, I mean…he kind of…quit." I said, looking down at my laptop.

"Really? Hm…" He asked interested and rubbing his chin, again. I think it was around this time that he saw the lyrics I was composing. "So whatcha writing?"

"Uh…" I, not good at explaining, handed the computer to him.

He read the lyrics out loud, "'everybody's here with me. Got no camera to see…' …I like these!" He said with an approving smile. I smiled back an eye-closed smile and frowned when his phone rang. He argued a little with the other line and sighed. "I need to go."

"I understand." I said, disheartened. "Oh, here." I remembered and handed him the master keys. "These will help you get downstairs again. Just hand them to Murdoc again when you get down."

"Oh, thank you. And hey," He said lifting my chin and poking my nose. "We'll be in touch."

I smiled back and said goodbye. Just as he was about to dip below the doorway, I remembered, "Wait a minute! What's your name?"

"Oh yeah. The name's Damon Albarn." He replied with a smile.

"Oooh. Oh my god!" I realized. "Russel wanted me to meet you! I'm his 'daughter', Destiny Hobbs." I walked over and shook his hand in a formal way.

"Ah, you're his 'daughter'. He talks a lot about you. He says big things are coming your way."

'Russel said that about me?' I thought with a blush. "Oh! Well, I guess we really will be seeing each other soon!"

"We sure will." He said with a smile and left down the hatch.

**November 6****th**** 1998****: The Gorillaz record label signing party.**

* * *

_Okay, something around 4,100 words, and I'm done. I want to finish the next few pages of my notebook in one big chapter and finish the first, like, part in 10 chapters. So I can fit it all. That means more typing though. So, enjoy and I'll see ya at the next chappie. By the way, and I think I explained this already, but I got complaints that the whole Destiny liking 2D is pretty stupid cause she's so young. Well, look at it like this: She has one of those celebrity crushes. Ex: Everyone and their obsession with Johnny Depp or Chris Brown or something. Like an old school fantasy crush. That's the love she has for him. Deal._

_See ya next time._


	10. Chapter 10

_Woo. 10__th__ anniversary! Gotta love what I'm gonna do in the next part of my fanfic. The next part is gonna be so cool. And in this chap, lots o secrets will be revealed. Fun fun fun fun!!! READ ON!!!_

**RECAP: Destiny and crew had their first gig and boy was Murdoc mad at Destiny came down in her same beanie hat. He told her to take it off and she was not happy. Then they played the gig, got signed to EMI, and retreated home to sleep…not really. Stupid Murdoc had a signing party where Destiny got hurt because she saw 2D making out with his girlfriend, Rachael Stevens. (Again, I think I've mentioned this, but I'm playing this fanfic like the Rise of the Ogre book.) Then Destiny met Damon Albarn and I left off there.**

**(P.S. I would like everyone to remember the first time Destiny went to 2D's room. How he tried to open the door and it slammed in his head and he suddenly could remember Destiny's name without being reminded? Well he remembered more than just his name…)**

**

* * *

**

When I said, "I'll see you soon", I didn't think I'd mean it so literally! Within the next week, Damon came back with recording partner Dan Nakumara (Me: Okay, pause! Just say his name out loud right now, in an angry Japanese voice. DAN NA-KU-MARA!!! XD Okay, I'm done.), who's the producer of our first album. He's helped us in composing it, too. With Damon and Dan, we've knocked out 40 tracks and chose 15 songs for what would become the self-titled album, 'Gorillaz' debut album.

**November 31****st**** 1998****: Gorillaz commence recording of the album at Kong Studios.**

* * *

With each new morning of recording, I followed a rote process; Wake up at 9 AM, Dress, Grab a slice of toast, and Take the elevator (or lift as they say in the UK) down to the studio, decked out with unnecessary equipment via 7ft check Murdoc received on the night of the equally or greater unnecessary party. The only reason I think it's unnecessary, though, is because all the recording equipment I need was on my laptop so it was money not well spent in my opinion.

It was upon entering the studio did I enter a circus. Or the whacky shack, depending on how you look at it. Everyday my band mates would be having an irrational task to do, some of which I remember fondly.

(Me: All of the following is true. It's in the book. Lol this is gonna be fun)

* * *

"Murdoc, why are you blowing a hole in your speaker, throwing it in a fish tank, and recording the noise through the floorboards?"

* * *

"2D, why are you writing random words on those magnets and throwing them at the studio fridge?"

* * *

"Russel-"

"Dad." He corrected.

"Riiight. Anyway, why are you throwing ostrich eggs at a metal sheet?" (Me: I think that's illegal actually.)

* * *

"Noodle, why did you jump in a bucket?"

* * *

"Murdoc, why are you bullying these kids?"

"SHUT UP!" I rolled my eyes.

* * *

And to think that's only a few. While everyone was doing all their weird stunts, I was being more reasonable and learning the art of record-scratching from Dan Nakumara; A new talent that I love as much as the next guy. If I wasn't further ruining the record I took from Murdoc's Winnebago, I was helping Damon and Dan mix the completed tracks. Very few songs were easy; others were where my love of electronics helped vitally with the completion.

"Geek," Murdoc would call me.

Besides scratching, mixing, and adjusting (to the paranormal acts of musical donation that my band mates did.) I was recording. It went something like this: I played guitar with Noodle in the tracks 'Punk' and 'M1-A1', Trumpets (or panpipes as Murdoc calls them) in 'Latin Simone' and 'Rock the House', Harmonica solos in 'Tomorrow Comes Today' and 'Clint Eastwood', and record scratching in 'New Genious' and 'Sound Check (Gravity)'. And even though I was new to playing keytar, Murdoc helped me master the instrument (after 78 hours of practice in one month) and included keytar in such songs as '5/4', 'Starshine', and 'Slow Country'. It became my focused instrument one could say.

* * *

It wasn't until after Dan Nakumara and I started mixing 'Clint Eastwood' did the unthinkable happen.

"I want to focus on this track for just a second." He said pointing to the track name on my laptop screen. "It's brilliant, but Murdoc's deep…throated laughter throws it off." He admitted and I nodded and shrugged at the newfound opinion.

"Murdoc, gathered behind the soundboard with the rest of the band, rolled his eyes. "Well," He began. "If my voice ain't goin' on that track, then where's the rest of the song?"

"Well, I've been thinking," Dan claimed. "What if your frightening calls were replaced by an incoherent rap?"

It was on that note the room shook and bellowing calls came from nowhere. Lightening struck as wind threw papers around and a blue protoplasm come from Russel's bald head.

I gave a small yelp and jumped into 2D's arms like a cartoon Scooby Doo would. So I was getting the hang of being weird a little.

"Did someone mention 'rap'?" The blue spirit asked. He wore the same clothes and sported the same white eyes as Russel. "You have peaked my slumbering interest. The name's Del."

"Whoa, Del? You mean- uh, 2D? You can let me down, now." I blushed looking at his long arms securely holding my underside to his chest. He stuttered as he lowered me to the floor, and scratched his head letting out a high-pitched groan. "So…you're Del? Russel's friend from high school?"

"Right!" He said getting really close to my face, making me back into the mixing table. It was scary to see a ghost up close!! Or maybe a genie. He reminded me more of a genie.

Anyway somehow he convinced us to let him rap on the track and he did. Really well too. We watched our newfound ghost rapper as I cleaned up the papers scattered about the room. He had a deep, fluent voce that matched the rhythm and mood perfectly. Meanwhile, Russel sat in his place about the desk chair in a temporary coma. I was slightly nervous about that, I must admit.

However, when Del finished editing 'Clint Eastwood', Dan had him record something extra that we later used for 'Rock the House'. Then he retreated back to Russel's cranium and Russel woke up like nothing just happened. Was that the oddest moment in recording? Kinda, really. Oddest? Most definitely. Most embarrassing, no. Not yet anyway.

* * *

"2D's vocals seem…lonely." Dan said rubbing his chin, much like Damon had. He studied the first song titled 'Re-Hash' with great intensity. It was a late Thursday night and everyone wanted nothing more than to go to bed. I included.

Everybody's been trapped in Kong Studios for the past 5 months and most of the album was done. Only a few tracks left were being edited and cleaned-up. The album still sounded kinda shady and dark though. Even some of the up-beat songs.

Everyone became increasingly tense and sleepy after being in the studio for so long. Murdoc grew more and more irritated and would yell at me whenever I touched the soundboard or spoke out of turn. He even started beating on 2D more. Noodle spent her off-sessions sleeping on my lap or practicing English with me as I have been learning Japanese from her. 2D, having run out of pain pills from his stash in his bedroom, became very tired and had large reoccurring headaches. I tried to comfort him by rubbing his scalp or letting him sleep on my shoulder, but it kind of disturbed me how much I blushed when he slept by me.

Russel seemed to be the only one of us who stayed at a normal level. He worked endlessly and sat at my laptop more than I did. He was the one who kept us all going. I wasn't that surprised though. Obviously his constant trips throughout the day to the kitchen were what was keeping him going.

Now it was just Damon, Dan, and Murdoc who were around the soundboard and remixing certain songs, like 'Re-Hash', and determining how to improve them.

"What do you mean lonely? Did that twerp do something wrong again?!" Murdoc snapped. He turned his head to where 2D was leaning on the studio couch, practically falling asleep. "What did you do, you nobhead?!"

2D looked at Murdoc with fear in his eyes and shook his head waving his hands defensively.

"It's not 2D that did anything. Sit down Murdoc." Damon said pulling out a chair for him. Murdoc did as told. "Go on, Dan. What's up?"

"I just think that if a new vocal track was added to some of the songs, maybe a better backdrop will come through a little softer. 2D's voice layering itself is becoming a constant and tedious. There's no surprise to what the next song will sound like."

"So what're you thinking?" Damon asked before taking a sip of coffee.

"I was thinking that we could play something cheerier in the background. Something like a female's voice." Dan explained.

Murdoc's brain wires connected and he smiled evilly. "How about we pick on the musical talents of the Child Prodigy herself, Destiny Hobbs?" He spun in his chair to the couch. My eyes widened and I stopped typing on my laptop.

"I picked a bad day to be Destiny Hobbs." I stated, staring blankly.

* * *

"Why doesn't Noodle have to do this?" I groaned, pressing the headphones over my ears until they squeezed my cranium.

"Noodle doesn't speak English." Dan Nakumara said on the side of the glass I longed to be on.

"But I'm tiiiiired." I whined.

"Just hurry up and sing, twerp!" Murdoc said, taking hold of the mic.

I shrugged at him, giving him a desperate look. "I can't 'hurry up and sing'! I can't even begin to sing at all!"

"Destiny, you know how you change pitches on a brass or woodwind instrument by tightening your throat?" I nodded to Damon. "Well, the same goes for singing. Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do."

I know how to sing." I said rolling my eyes. "I just…can't. At least, not with everyone looking!"

"Start singing, ya sod, or I'll kick your arse!" Murdoc threatened in the mic. I shifted my eyes to the three of the men. They were all staring at me; waiting for my next move.

'There is NO WAY I'm singing in this album. Or any album! For anybody! I don't sing! Let alone, raise my voice!'

Taking the easy way out, I started acting. I began "hyper-ventilating" and my eyes rolled in the back of my head. My body fell to the ground, my hat and the headphones slipping off as I went, face-first, to the ground.

* * *

"Destiny!" Damon's voice called as multiple hands rolled me on my back, and felt my pulse, and checked my breathing and blah blah blah. Russel's large hand cupped my cheek and Noodle started shaking my arm.

"Someone go get help!" Russel's voice yelled.

"Ah, Christ!"

"She's just fainted, Russel. Just let her be for a while." Dan tried to encourage.

"No, I got to get her help!" Russel said and ran out the room. Noodle's tiny footsteps followed.

Damon instructed 2D to stay with me in case I wake up, and followed with Murdoc out the room. Once I heard the door slam behind Murdoc, I opened one eye and asked, "Are they gone?"

2D, eyes wide and mouth ajar, nodded slowly.

"Great." I said rising to my feet, grabbing my hat, and walking towards the hall. "I'm going to bed." I told him and left.

* * *

On April 14th 2000, Dan announced that he was taking us on a paid vacation, or 'relocating the project', in Jamaica. Leaving us little time to prepare, the Gorillaz went shopping for new clothes to wear in the sunny weather. I think Jamaica was chosen as the new location because of the polarities it had to Kong Studios. While Kong was dark, zombie-ish, and brooding, Jamaica was sunny, bright, and warm. When mixing the two together, we get a great album.

Words of Caution though: Never shop with Russel when you're his adopted daughter. "No straps, short shorts, or sleeveless shirts." He would tell me. Not that I wore anything at that time except for hoodies and jeans, but it irked me when every two seconds Russel asked me to do a pull and throw test. Murdoc was also pissed about how I should strip down from wearing baggy clothes, but I didn't listen to him.

* * *

Since Gorillaz were heading to a foreign country, I had to visit a doctor for a check-up. Because I was the only human in the band and I haven't traveled to another country for close to a year (how long I've been in Gorillaz. And I'm still not all convinced that I should stay here.), I was the only one who had to be dragged into the stupid check-up.

I sat in a blinding white room on an uncomfortable bed covered with wax paper. "Why is there paper on this bed?" I asked holding the material between my fingers.

"To keep away any germs." Russel replied across from me in a chair.

"Oh…" I sat there awkwardly fidgeting with my paper dress. "And why do I have to wear this?" I asked Russel again. He was the only other person in the room besides me.

"Well, don't you know already?" Russel asked. It was late in the night; the only time to get someplace private without being noticed as the Child Prodigy was the nighttime. So it was 9-ish.

"No…" I replied. Russel lifted his eyebrows. "Doctors visited me on important trips, okay?"

"Excuse me, are you her father?" The bearded doctor asked, poking his head in the doorway. He had an Einstein-like accent.

"Adopted father, yes." Russel responded.

"I'm going to need to see you and Destiny's caretaker outside please." Russel nodded and instructed me to stay in the room. Then he left and closed the door.

Of course, I _had _to tiptoe across the room and snoop in on their conversation.

"While I was in session with young Destiny, I asked many questions that pertained to her mental and emotional health."

"Why would you do that, eh?" Murdoc asked with an evil curiosity.

"Well, according to the records of the UK, Destiny has not been properly evaluated in any health fields." This was true. I blame my stupid manager for that.

"Oh. Well…go on."

"Now, I've come to understand that you haven't been in custody of her for too long, but have you noticed, uh…anything unusual about her emotions?" A short pause followed. "Well, I want you to be aware of the fact that I believe Destiny is diagnosed with a minor case of Bipolarity."

"Eh? Wot's that?" Murdoc asked. Typical.

"I've come to the conclusion that Destiny has a hereditary disease that tampers with her feelings. She may feel a joy or, um…hyperness at any given moment, and sometimes a sadness, a uh, depression, if you will, that may come to be as severe as thoughts of suicide."

I gasped and started second guessing about listening anymore, but continued to hear through the door.

"….Be best to talk with her of her feelings when she looks upset without bringing up this conflict that she has."

"What conflict?!" Murdoc. Again, typical.

"Her Bipolarity. She's only a young child and she may not understand what this news may mean. I believe that when she is upset, talk to her desires, and when extremely happy. A girl at her age may, um, enjoy a certain sport or…a hobby she enjoys that could use up the extra energy. As long as you encourage her to let her emotions out in a natural flow."

"Isn't there some kinda medication we could just give her to avoid all this?" Murdoc asked, already knowing this was going to be a pain.

"Oh, no, no, no- drugs should not be conveyed to her as the answer. Adding an anti-depressant or equalizer to the situation can only cause harm to her and her, uh…upbringings. It would be best for her to deal with this without the idea of medication."

And that was it. No drugs. No help. No cure.

* * *

The drive back, around 10-ish, was awkwardly silent. Russel and Murdoc, who were the only ones who came along, didn't mention one word about the newfound disease I possessed and it was obvious I wouldn't be informed about it anytime soon.

Murdoc, who had shotgun, kept his eyes forward and didn't look back at me once, Russel didn't say a word to me, and I glared out the window onto the highway with my head rested on my chin.

"So, uh…Destiny," Russel began awkwardly. "I was thinking of ordering a pizza. Do you want me to order you a pineapple slice?" I didn't answer (Even though I love pineapple topped pizza).

"You know that a ninja movie ya like was going to be on TV tonight…" Murdoc tried. "I could cancel my dates and watch some with yo-"

"I heard you outside the room." I growled. They both grew silent, knowing exactly what I meant. "I heard what you both were discussing with the doctor outside the room. I'm Bipolar. So what? Don't think that means I should be treated any differently than I am now. I'm not some handicapped who can't be spoken to seriously or a child who wouldn't understand what my condition is. So I'd appreciate if everyone would stop asking how I feel or taking my opinion about every little thing like I'm some kind of sensitive freak. I'm a normal human-being and I want to be treated as such."

After that, the ride went back to being awkwardly quiet. Upon arrival, 2D and Noodle wanted to know it went, but I went to bed early.

* * *

The last day before our departure, nobody really talked to me. I guess I was harsh when I told Russel and Murdoc off and they told 2D and Noodle and now the four didn't really say anything to me. It wasn't a mean kind of silence, but an uncomfortable one. It made me feel really bad.

I made it up to them the same day by spending the whole day with Noodle, ordering pizza for Russel and me, and watching evening ninja reruns with Murdoc. Then I thought of 2D. He wasn't really up to date with what was going on, but the way that he looked at me when I "fainted" was so upsetting and I wanted to make sure he knew I was fine. Plus, I don't know all that much about my blue-haired friend.

I went to 2D's room, leftover pizza in hand, and knocked on the door. After he crashed into something again, jumped up the stairs two at a time, and opened the door, I realized 2D was shirtless.

I turned bright red. "Um, hi! I'm sorry for freaking you out like that in the studio. Do you wanna…hang out?" I asked, using the new slang I've been learning.

"Uh…" He stuttered. "I don' know. I have a lot of papers aroun'…my room's a mess…"

"I have pizza!" I tempted in a sing-song voice, holding the plate to my face with a smile. He skeptically looked at me and the plate. "Pweety pwease?" I asked with a pouty face. "It's vegetarian."

"Oh, no! Not the face!" 2D said in a joking tone and covered his face so he couldn't see me. I laughed, making him smile. "Awrigh'! But only tis' once." He said moving aside to let me in.

"Yeah, yeah. You always say that!" I said skipping in and smiling to him with a smart look.

"But tis time's differen'." He said, snatching the pizza from the dish. "You came wit vegetarian pizza." He said before taking a bite and messing with the long stringy cheese. I started to crack up; he looked like a hamster.

* * *

"I don't see what's so wrong with your room! It looks fine!"

"No it doesn't!" 2D's tone lowered, "It's a mess."

"It's always a mess!" I said and 2D faked being hurt. I sat on his bed, stepping over the scattered papers and articles of clothing as I went, as 2D went to put on a shirt. I stood from his bed again and started to shuffle through the papers, putting them away neatly as I went. "What were you doing down here anyway?" I asked, not lifting my eyes.

"Oh, messing wit lyrics, finishin' songs…" He replied as he sat at a keyboard placed by his bed so that he can sit on it to play.

"And that requires your shirtless?"

"Well, I wos…hot." 2D scratched his head.

"Indeed you are." I slipped before clasping my mouth with my hands.

"Wot?"

"Nothing!!" I said in a rush and sat beside him on the bed again. "So, anyway, what was that song you were finishing?"

2D turned back to the keys, saddened. "It's this one solo. It has to fit here and I can't get the solo to fit." He said, fumbling with his hands.

"Which song?"

"Eeeeh…" He squealed and started playing 'Slow Country'.

"Oh! Yeah, I know what you're talking about. I've been thinking about that one, too." I paused. "What about this…" I thought, and played the solo that you hear in the song now on the keyboard.

* * *

I finished the solo and looked at 2D. He stared at me with wide eyes, and then broke out in a smile. "Tat wos brilliant!" he complimented, and handed me a pencil to write down the melody on the sheet music. "Of course, you always was good at playin' music like tat when you wos young. I guess you haven't changed as much as I thought!" He thought out loud and took another bite of his cheesy pizza.

I stared at him with my eyebrows pulled together. "When I was young? What does that mean?"

"Yeah, I thought you remembered me already!"

"Remembered what?" I asked, completely clueless.

2D gasped. "You don't remember?! Four years ago!? At the ol' Music Shop?!" I shook my head. "Well! Then I'm tellin' you now! You won' believe tis!" I sat on the bed facing him and hugged his pillow in my lap.

2D cleared his throat. "It wos February 23rd 1996. I remember it quite well, actually…" As 2D told the tale, I found it harder to believe, but easier to remember.

* * *

A miniature Destiny Brooks, age six, walked aimlessly about the store, searching for the new guitar strings my soon to be manager, Mr. Martoche, sent me to get for my brother. Being very short at the time, I couldn't see over many of the tall shelves, so I strayed to the front counter, meeting an odd blue-haired character. He stared out in space, oblivious to the world, until I spoke in my mouse-like voice.

"E-excuse me," I asked, peaking my head over the tall counter.

He looked down and saw me, smiled a grin that reached to his large hopeful eyes (and at this time, he still had eyes), and leaned over the table. Being shy, I pulled my head down in my collar and shoulders, blushing.

"Well, ello lil girl!"He said in a high-pitched voice. "Wot's your name?"

"D-Destiny, sir." I stuttered behind my wool sweater sleeves with my hands in front of my mouth. I was shaking, and it wasn't because of the cold.

"Wot a beautiful name for such a beautiful young lady!" He said smiling contagiously and I moved my sleeves, revealing my smile back. "And with such a pretty smile too!" He drew back over the counter and stood up straight. I've never seen such a tall man! "So wot can I do for such a cute girl like yourself?"

"Um…I need some guitar strings…" I paused. "And a chocolate bar please." I said excitingly, feeling like I could get away with bringing the delicacy back for my brother and me to share. We loved sweets, but Mr. Martoche said that if we had it, we would start becoming more rebellious. But I'm sure that Mr. Martoche wouldn't notice if the strings cost an extra pound, or so.

The tall man took out the items and laid them on the counter. A lump grew in my throat as I watched him total the chocolate. "Tat'll be £9.8, young miss,"

'Oh, no. I only have £8!' I thought placing the coins on the counter.

Disheartened, I took the chocolate in my hands and held it back out to him above my head. "Could you please put this back?" I asked. But the clerk looked upset and didn't make an attempt to take it. 2D later told me how much he could see I wanted it and went sad I couldn't afford it. His eyes looked at me with such concern that I shut my own.

"Are you sure? I could pay for-"

"No! Oh, excuse me,." I apologized for interrupting, but held the bar high for 2D to take it back. "I shouldn't have even asked for it anyway. I'm not allowed to have sweets…just put it back, please," I sighed.

Reluctantly, 2D took the bar back and held it in both hands. I took the guitar strings and ran out of the store, blushing. Even after I left, 2D watched the door, chocolate in hands, wondering what I could've meant when I said I wasn't allowed to have sweets.

* * *

"Wow…you really remember that?" I asked and 2D nodded eagerly.

"Yes! But that was only the day before 4 years ago!"

I lifted an eyebrow to this and yawned. "Tell me; what happened four years ago?" I asked, leaning on 2D's shoulder ready to sleep. 2D stiffened and I was ready to pull back, but instead he gathered my body in his lap and rubbed my sleeve.

"Well, the next day, it was raining…" I closed my eyes picturing the day.

* * *

I remembered wearing a light blue raincoat over a plaid overall dress. I bought the wrong guitar strings and had to go back for ".11 not .15!!"

Luckily at the time, the previous clerk wasn't at the counter to rant at me about the chocolate bar, but it meant that I had to wander the tall shelves aimlessly. In hopes to reach higher and see well, I found old crates and stacked two on top of another on the white tile. As I put away the fifth pack of guitar strings that didn't fit the measurements, my raincoat made a puddle and the foundation slipped from under me. The crate toppled over, bringing my small body with it.

"Aaahit!" I squeaked and hit the floor. A crate knocked me in the forehead and I blacked out.

* * *

"Someone go get help!" 2D told me was how he remembered hearing of my collapse. He said he was working in an aisle beside where I fell and one of his co-workers had seen me fall. 2D rounded the corner and was shocked to see me again. I was lying with my arms placed above my head and on my ribcage (2D had posed what I looked like). 2D said the arriving ambulances that I was collapsed in the guitar aisle and was about to ride with me to the hospital, but stopped up front, laid money on the counter, and took a small package.

* * *

I woke up in a hospital bed 2 hours later; with tubes in my arm…I hate tubes.

"Oh…oww," I groaned, holding my head with the un-tubed arm.

"Hey, sleepy head," A doctor stated, jotting down notes. He went on about my health, how close a call that was, and other stuff I either didn't understand or care about. "There's also a visitor here to see you. Would you like me to send him in?"

I let out another groan. "My head hurts," I whined, not caring about anything else.

"Well, I already gave you something for that, so I'll go get your visitor, okay?" He said and I nodded, holding my head and feeling drowsy.

Looking outside, I realized that it was late at night. Nobody was on the streets and very few cars were parked outside.

A minute passed and in the dim light coming from the lamp beside me, the store clerk from the music shop came in with a denim jacket and jeans on with a tan shirt under it. But in his hands was my blue raincoat.

I blushed when I saw him and sank in the covers with a smile. "Hello!" I greeted, happy to see him.

"Ello again! Didn't fink I'd see you so soon!" HE joked and sat on a chair beside me. "How're ya feelin'?"

"My head hurts." I told him. "The doctor said he gave me stuff, but it still hurts." I ran my fingers through my thick, brown hair with half glazed-over eyes. "And I have needles in my arm. I don't like needles," I confessed.

The store clerk gave a small smile. "To tell ya the truth, I don't either," He shifted his eyes secretively and leaned in close. "But don't tell anyone. Promise?" I laughed and promised to him I'd keep it a secret. "Good!" He smiled contagiously again. It was something about his charm that made me feel just as great. "To tell you the truth, when I heard you, of all people, collapsed, I was really, really, sad!"

"You were?" I asked, frowning. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

"It's alrigh'! The fing wos, nobody wos at the store with you, and the hospital people wanted someone to be with you when you wake up. (Me: This is true. Ambulances allow family members or friends to go with whoever is injured, or in this case, knocked out as a kid in a life or death situation, so that they can have someone to be with when they wake up.) So I volunteered! Look!" He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a tiny paper rectangle. "I even got you a 'Get Well' present!"

I accepted the present from his hands, and read the writing around the twine.

"To: Destiny, From: Stuart Pot" I read aloud.

"Tat's my name!" He announced. I undid the twine and paper revealing the chocolate bar I held earlier. "The very same one tat you gave back yesterday! I put it aside in case you wanted to come back for it."

I looked from him to the chocolate, fingering the forbidden treat. "Go ahead!" 2D encouraged. "It's my treat!"

Slowly, I pulled the paper back and took a small brick off. "Here!" I offered, reaching it out to him. "We can share it!"

He nodded and took it as we both enjoyed the snack.

From that day, I spent 25 more days in the hospital. Stu came to visit me every day while Mr. Martoche only visited with my brother twice. I know Derrick wanted to, but Martoche didn't let him. Whenever Stuart came over we would discuss about what each other's lifestyles were like. Sometimes he even brought over a keyboard from the store and we would play for each other. But in the last week Stuart didn't come see me anymore. I didn't see him ever again, and worst of all, my brother moved on and I had to fill the title of 'New Child Prodigy'.

* * *

"And back ten, you wos really shy!" 2D began to describe me in further detail. "And had the prettiest smile! And your eyes wos so big! Very distinctive! And it was tat first day tat you came to Kong did I suspect you of bein' tat young girl; Large, puppy, eyes."

I sat in his arms, looking to the ceiling as though the memory was there. "I can't remember that at all…I'm so sorry."

"You had a blackout! Back at your age, it's very harmful. Could be deadly. Or sumfink." 2D scratched his head, and then continued about my young self. "And you wos so cute, too. With the most beautiful voice I've heard in a really…long time…You sang, like-"

"Me?! Singing?!" I asked, blushing rapidly. I don't sing. I absolutely hate singing. That's why I'm a musician. I'm not very oral, like speaking out loud, and definitely not singing. I get too embarrassed.

"Yeah! Oh, Deaftiny, if you only knew!" 2D went on, not caring that I was blushing. Your voice was so spectacular! I fink, tat the next time we get in the studio, you should jump in the boof [booth] wif [with] me, and-"

"No, no, no, 2D!" I said shakily moving away from his chest. "I don't sing. I _never_ sing! I came to tell you that when I was in the booth, I…well, I didn't really faint, but I-"

"You fainted?! When?! Are you awrigh'?" He asked and reached a hand out to my face, but I fell off the bed.

"No, 2D. I didn't! I just…I don't sing! I play music! I'm a musician!"

"Back ten [then], you sang loads of times when I played for you! In fact, I fink I have a mix tape...!" He said excitingly and started digging in a side table.

I covered my blushing face and ran out the room and up the stairs, screaming behind me, "2D! I don't sing! Never have! Never will!"

* * *

_**End Saga**_

* * *

**Okay, that's the first notebook I wrote up and the first 10 chapters. What do ya think? I enjoy typing this up. It's fun fun. And who knew that Destiny and 2D met before Gorillaz?! That's what a bump on the head can bring back. Haha. See ya next time, Rate and message, blah blah blah.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Wow, Fanfiction editing is being annoying. Well, after reading comments or reviews or whatevers that people has posted, I'm gonna continuing writing this ^-^ Though now my only source of action is Rise of the Ogre. =/ Cause I lost all my original stories. T_T Oh well. I'm not gonna recap anything.**

* * *

Saga 2

_Dear Damon,_

_We woke up at 3 am today to catch our plane. Ugh. I'm really sad that you couldn't have come along with us. Russel is so tired that he's got music blasting in his ears and the biggest cup of coffee that I've ever seen in hand. I think he might eat me if I bother him. Oh well. Noodle is beside him playing some kind of Mahjong or something. It's a lot harder than sudoku so I don't want to mess with it. 2D is in the aisle seat and I thought I could talk to him, but he's snoring away. Murdoc went off somewhere to flirt with a flight attendant. Ew. He can be really annoying sometimes._

_Just wanted to send ya a message saying I miss you and I wish you were here. But the flight's about to go, and I need to turn off my computer. I'll send you an e-mail when I get to Jamaica. Much love!_

_Your friend, _

_Destiny Hobbs_

* * *

Dear Destiny,

Sorry I couldn't come with you, but I have to do some EMI business and I can't afford to miss it. I'll be tidying up Kong Studios while you're all gone and if I find any keys then I'll give them to you. Don't worry about me; have fun! You only go to Jamaica once, you know. That is, after you become a big rock star you may not have the time. Take it from someone who knows.

As for the rest of the gang, tell them I say hi (Should wait until Russel is decently awake before you bother him) and keep Murdoc in line. We don't want him doing anything stupid down there. I send love.

-Damon Albarn

p.s. Mahjong isn't really hard. Just confusing. But you get the hang of it.

* * *

'I wonder why Damon is always so formal with me. Could even put 'Your friend, Damon Albarn' at least. Sigh.' I thought while I waited for my computer to power down. I yawned- the only real sign of exhaustion that I showed- and stared across the empty seat out the window. People were closing up the hatches. 'Where's Murdoc?'

I didn't have to turn around to hear the Satanist whistling. To the tune of his baseline in 'Sound Check (Gravity)', no doubt. My head turned slowly to watch him mosey his way down the aisle, and stop when he saw 2D sleeping. He pauses, putting his hands on his hips.

"'EY!" He slaps 2D's chin, crushing his jaw in an audible way. "Wot do you think you're doing? Wot did I tell you before we got on this plane?"

2D stares up at him, rubbing his jaw from side-to-side. "Wot's wrong? Are we tere already?"

Murdoc slaps him again. "NO! _**I**_ SIT IN THE AISLE! _**ME**_! MOVE OVER!" 2D moves to the other side of me and Murdoc plops down. He looks at me and I glare. "Wot're you looking at?"

"You should buckle up. We're taking off, you know." I state, bluntly and close my own eyes as 2-D has done. Not a few seconds later, I feel something a clammy hand on top of mine and look to my left. Murdoc's face has flushed to a pale green color and his eyes are in a state of panic. His body has molded one with the seat and as the plane jolted forward, a tiny gasp- one that you wouldn't hear if you weren't paying attention- passed his trembling lips. "Muds? Are you afraid of flying?"

He looks at me suddenly and his eyes become stubborn. He scoffs, "Wot do **you** know? I ain't afraid." And tucks his hands under his arms, facing away from me. The plane takes a little bump then and he went back into paranoia, his hand clamping over mine.

I laugh lightly as the P.A. system comes on and prompts us the usual take-off information. Murdoc shifts his tiny pupils at me and straight ahead again, forgetting all about his tough façade. "Don't worry," I say reassuringly, turning my hand over to hold his clammy one. "I'm here. It'll be okay."

He scoffs again, but as the plane sped up so did his heart until his cartoon sketch defied him and it was visible in his chest. Coming out and going back in under his upside-down cross. His grip tightened on my hand and I squeezed back. 'He may not appreciate it now, but maybe someday this good karma will be getting back at me.'

* * *

'Or not!' I thought stepping into the new airport. My hand was totally cartoon-shriveled and it felt like that, too. Murdoc held onto me the whole ride without easing up or letting go once.

"I thought he was only afraid of take-off, but this is ridiculous! I'm gonna have carpel tunnel for weeks!" I said mostly to myself, but a dark, cynical laugh came from behind me and upon further investigation, Murdoc had a huge sneer on his face and was lighting a cigarette.

'Basterd.'

**April 16****th****-May 7****th**** 2000: Gorillaz sessions at GeeJam Studios, Jamaica.**

* * *

We got into a really good routine when we got to Jamaica: Got up late, worked for a few hours, had lunch, went to sleep, went to the beach for a few hours, had dinner, and worked until three am or so. It was a really good idea to move this to Jamaica (the recording of Gorillaz, I mean). The sun was shining on all the bleakness that is Kong Studios and it balanced out the whole album. Besides the fact that the recording gear in Jamaica wasn't as great as the gear in Kong (due to the fact that everything is up to date in Kong and was built recently, and the studio down here is stuck in the 70s), it was a really cool place to be.

Dan Nakumara met us down there and was native to the area (Me: Let the record show that I'm putting this in myself. I don't know Dan Nakumara.) so he didn't join in on our activities when we weren't recording. I don't exactly know what he was doing, but Russel told me that he saw him once sitting with a bunch of guys outside a drinking store. He also told me to never accept what drinks he had in paper bags…I don't get it, but Russel said he'll tell me when I'm older.

During our stay in Jamaica, we rented a hut and I stayed in my own room. Everyone else got their own room, too, which is probably for the better knowing that Russel is a horrible morning person, 2-D stays up all night popping pills, and Murdoc sleeps in his underwear…and nothing else (I shiver at the thought).

I've been laying out in the sun, spread across a towel thinking this, when a beach ball smacked my face. "OW!" The ball rolled away to some green figure bent over and when I lifted my sunglasses, Murdoc was bending upright, ball in his arms, in a pink beach thong. "Nice, Mudsy. _Real_ nice."

"The hell're you callin' _Mudsy_?" He said with a raised eyebrow and a small smirk. Was Murdoc in…a good mood? "Where's _your_ bathing suit, anyway? This is the beach you know, love."

I looked down at my outfit. I was wearing an oversized t-shirt on top of my bathing suit. It was a light green in color and looked more like a tank top and shorts which embarrassed me, but I wasn't wearing my hat, so that pleased Russel enough into letting me wear a shirt. "I am in my suit."

"That's not a bathing suit! C'mon, love-"

"Please don't call me love."

"-show some skin!" Then he laughed his dirty un-mock-able laugh. I rolled my eyes and laid back down.

"No thanks, Muds. Maybe later," He gave up harassing me and made his way towards the beach. I sit up and scream after him, "And watch out for other people! You're gonna pock someone's eye out in your tini-bikini if you're not careful!"

He pauses, winks at me, and continues into the water. I shake my head with a smirk and lay down once more, only to find the sun completely blocked out by a tall, ungainly shadow bent over my towel.

"Whatcha doin?" 2-D asks, the gap in his teeth very prominent in his words. He was dressed in his makeshift jeans swim-trunks, having had forgotten to pack some, and a pink inner tube that made him look childish and adorable. He was holding it around himself since he was so skinny.

"Tanning," I responded, giving up on removing distractions. "Though I don't think I'm doing it right, cause I'm still really pale." I pull my sleeve up to compare with a pout when I find nothing's changed.

2D ignores me completely and, like a five-year-old dilly-dallying the first two words in each sentence, he says, "Waaaaaanna buuuuuuuild a san-castle wit' me?"

"Maybe later."

"Then you waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanna…go fo' a swim?" His smile was toothless and his black eyes curved up. He looked breathless.

"I doooooooooooon' waaaaaaaaanna!" I said, lifting my voice at the end of my sentence like he did.

He frowned. "Why not?"

"Not knowing how, for starters."

"You don' know how to swim?" He stated more than asked and I said no. "Well….ten you can borrow my tube. I was gonna use it cause I don' know how either, but the waves are actually really shallow. I can just stand out tere." What 2-D really doesn't know is that he's actually a great swimmer, but he probably forgot that…again. "What'dya say?"

I removed my glasses and sat up with worry in my eyes. I looked out to the ocean and saw my other three band mates having a wonderful time out in the teal ocean. There weren't any waves crashing on the beach, either. It was a very peaceful slice of the white sands. I looked back up at 2-D and said, "But my bathing suit isn't really-"

2D cut me off by scoffing, "Like it matt-rs! It's just us." He smiled in his adorable way again and I was sunk. He was too cute to resist, so I caved.

"Okay…" I said and looked around in case anyone was looking at us. "Just stand in front of me, okay?" 2D nods and does so, as I remove my t-shirt in his heavy shadow. My tiny curves had been developing more and more now and I was slightly embarrassed by how I was filling out so much so fast. I am only nine, after all.

"Deaftiny, you look gorgeous!" He said. Probably over-exaggerating, but I blushed anyway. "Now hold up your arms." I did and he slid his pink tube over his head and over my own. It hugged my hips comfortably and there was no need to hold it up. Again, embarrassing.

When 2D walked me to the shoreline, he had to coax me in many times, before I went any deeper than my shins. The water was clear enough to see that it sunk deep out where Russel, Murdoc, and Noodle were and 2D- who was no farther than ten feet away- was already up to the waistline of his shorts. I inched my way in, taking deep breaths and before I went to the water where I had to use the pink safety tube, I stopped.

"I can't do this, 2-D. I'm going back."

"It's okay, Deaftiny!" He called after me. "Really! I'll be here to take care of you, no matter wot and hold you up if you fall in or sumfing! I promise, I'm here to take care of you!"

I took a deep breath again and turned around, continuing to walk into the ocean. 2-D's promise was enough to keep me going. If not for me, than for him. Soon the sand was beyond my reach to walk on and the float around my waist held me up. It raised above my hips, so I did have to hold myself above the water, but I was safe. And when I kicked my way towards 2D he was beaming at me.

The rest of our group cheered when they saw me and we played volleyball in the water. Noodle was wearing floaters that were around her arms and she played with Russel while Murdoc, 2D, and I were on the other team. Everyone laughed whenever I bounced the ball off my head (unable to let go of the inner tube and all) and when the sun went down we felt refreshed and ready to do the rest of the work that was waiting for us when we got to the recording studios.

It was a _really_ good idea to come out to Jamaica.

* * *

**Rate, comment, yada yada,**

**Murdoc: STFU! GET ON WIT IT!**

***smacks Murdoc upside his head* no.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Omg, 1,000 hits! =D Thanks all of you are reading! I really hope you like this next installment since it's a pretty big change to the story! I worked really hard on it and I hope it makes you love Destiny a little more. This is actually a big turning point for her. Thanks again and I hope you like it!**

**RECAP: (I have to look it up myself...) Oh! So they all went to Jamacia to finish up the debut album 'Gorillaz'. Murdoc is totally afraid of flying (again, this is all from Rise of the Ogre) and they all went to the beach! It was revealed that Destiny doesn't know how to swim, but thanks to 2-D, she still got to go in the water to hang out with her bandmates! She was very apprhenseive to trust 2D and her bandmates and she didn't want to show skin, but she was convinced otherwise to take off her hoodie. And she decided that coming to Jamacia with her band was a really good idea.**

**Enjoy!**Did I say really good?

* * *

I meant really bad.

Obviously my little "fainting" stunt wouldn't last too long, and, obviously, eventually someone would bring up the vocal tracks and remember my needing to be recorded in it. The question was who would bring it up, and how can I get out of singing again?

These questions were answered when we went to GeeJam studios the same night we went to the beach. Everyone was chilling and minding their own business as Dan recorded vocals for 'Re-Hash' with 2-D. But no matter how many takes they did of him, there was always a look of disappointment from Mr. Nakumara, and the same "missing something" that every song needs.

"What's wrong with you buggars?" Murdoc complained, more irritated by the repetitive outputs of each un-success than the rest of us.

"I don't know," Dan shook his head as he said this. "It's just like, there's not enough hope. Not enough optimism in 2D's vocals."

"We had the same problem in Kong, remember?" I inputted from my sprawled position across the couch.

Murdoc ignored my comment. "Well, what do you think we do about it? You're the producer, so do your fucking job and…and…_produce things_ already!"

"What do you mean by _that_?" Dan snapped back. I wonder if everyone was tired and it wasn't just me. I don't know; Murdoc might still be upset he got sunburned before and is taking it out on us.

"What. Do. We. Do. To. Fix. _This_?"

"We get backing vocals. Something preferably lighter. Preferably younger."

Through the window in the booth, I was the only one who saw 2D's face light up. He's been waiting for his opportunity to volunteer me again and this was his window. The widest smile crossed his face and he started to plot on how to start. "Hey!" He said. Nobody listened.

"Oh no," I felt it escape past my lips before I could stop it. I started to find ways to back out of the room without anyone noticing and I started to subconsciously.

Murdoc continued, not noticing me leave. "Dammit! Who the hell's gonna come out here to record, huh? _Nobody_ good; That's who!"

I scooted more and more and the sound of Dan and Murdoc fighting drowned out under the sound of my heartbeat. The door was already open too, so nobody's head would turn when I leave. Noodle and Russel were in an intense game of Janga and 2D- more and more- was tapping the glass to the recording booth's window and talking into the mic in front of him. He wanted me to sing with him on the album so bad. I felt multiple pangs in my heart when I stepped into the hallway.

"I know who we can record!" He burst out. "Seriously! Destiny can do it! She loves to sing! She was…faking…tat last time…...fainted…." And I heard bits and pieces down the hallway until I full-out sprinted out away from the room.

* * *

By the time I got outside it was raining a little and the sound of thunder was distant off the shores. It reminded me of Kong and I sat down along the wall to think. I thought about a lot of things; Why did 2D have to bring up my childhood like that all of a sudden? When will everyone just leave me alone about singing on the album?

And then I thought, 'When will I sing on the album? No! No, I won't sing on the album! I will not do it!' The thought made me a hot streak of red flash across my face. 'But I know eventually I'll cave, and sing. Murdoc'll find a way to make me. The matter now is when? This album? The next one?

'Or will it be in a concert in front of loads of people who I don't even know and could easily mess up?' I stopped thinking about that possibility before I felt sick.

I sat against the concrete wall for so long, that I lost track of time. I could've been sitting there for hours before Murdoc finally came out to get me. He didn't look happy, but he didn't look like he was about to scream at me, so I guess that's okay.

Before he said anything he looked me over, "You're a sopping mess for someone who's been sitting outside for a few minutes." I then realized how wet and cold my clothes really were. The rain was coming down harder now and it caused them to stick to my body.

I ignored his comment, "A few minutes?"

"Yeah, we noticed you were gone, like, twenty minutes ago," He crossed his arms and looked down at me with a menacing glare. "What the hell is that about anyway?"

I pouted, sighed, and met his gaze. "I don't wanna sing. _Ever_."

"I _KNOOOOOW_." He stressed the last part of it in a weird way, rounding his mouth.

"Then why do I have to keep repeating myself that I don't want to? Everyone keeps forcing me back in the booth!"

"Nobody was forcing you anywhere! Christ! Will you stop yelling at me- I've been drinking!" He rubbed the space between his eyes the way he always does when Murdoc has a headache. "Will you just stop complaining about it and sing once- Just _once_!"

"NO!"

"Why the hell not?"

"Because!" I realized we were screaming back and forth to each other and I was on a one-track race to spit something else out. "Because I don't want to embarrass you or 2D or the rest of the band!" As soon as I said it, I wanted to take it back

Because Murdoc had a huge grin.

"What?" "Admit it, darling, you just put on such a tough look and act like you don't care, but in reality, you _do _care for the band." He was smirking as he said this and him saying it took me aback.

"What? No! I don't know what you're talking about!" I said and heard thunder clap in the background. I jumped, but ignored it afterwards.

"Just admit it."

"No!" I was lying and I knew it. But how could I trust _Murdoc_ of all people?

The smirk on his face disappeared and he became serious and dark once again. "This isn't funny anymore. You gotta fess up; Either you like being in the band or you don't- there's no middle road!"

"I like the band!"

"Then represent, would ya? Sing one bloody song!"

While he said this, the door leading inside opened and 2D stood there looking innocent and confused. He had a yellow umbrella over his head and a dark purple raincoat. "Uh, guys? I fink they want you two back in tere…"

"Shut up, ya dolt! Nobody wants you here, just go back in the studio!" Murdoc yelled at him and 2-D's expression became hurt.

"Don't yell at him! He didn't do anything to get you angry, you drunk!" I yelled just as loud to him and put my hands on my hips.

2-D looked to the ground and mumbled under his breath, "I'm sorry. I was just worried about you two…and Deaftiny-"

"Shut! Up! I said to go back inside!"

"And I said don't yell at him!"

"But what about Deaf-"

"I SAID TO _SHUT UP!_" Murdoc punched 2-D across the cheek and he fell backwards, hitting his head on the concrete sidewalk. The umbrella flew up in the air and landed not far from his sprawled body that had small blue birds spinning around his head.

I gasped and screamed his name as I ran towards him. 'Oh no,' I thought while I ran past Murdoc and leaned beside him. Tears formed in my eyes and 2-D blinked once or twice and tried to lift his head off my lap, but it fell back down into unconsciousness. 'This is all my fault! He's hurt because he was worried about me!

'No,' I decided in my mind and became enraged. "This is all your fault!" I screamed at Murdoc who was rubbing his forehead again. "How dare you hurt 2D? He was just looking after me!"

"Will you stop _yelling_? I said I have a headache!"

"No! Go get help! It's your fault, so go get Russel while I look after-" I didn't finish because Murdoc picked me up by the front of my shirt. I was too surprised to fight off since he had been five feet away from us a few seconds ago.

"I said '_stop yelling'!_"

Murdoc pulled back his fist and punched me in the nose and between my eyes. I felt myself smack my head on the street and the pain shoot through my body like my skull cracked,

And then nothing at all.

* * *

2-D turned out to be fine and had only a minor headache. He mumbled to Noodle (who is apparently outside now) something about how he's going to have to down the whole bottle of meds in his suitcase, but besides that there was no further bleeding or birds around his noggin.

I couldn't move my body, and I could hear and nothing else. I heard Russel come out of the same door as 2-D, saw what happened, and pin Murdoc against the wall. Russel asked him to give him a reason why he shouldn't deform his nose to the point where plastic surgery won't help, and Murdoc went on groaning that he has a headache.

My head was lifted onto someone's lap and a hand went over my forehead. The person announced that I'm bleeding and the voice belonged to Dan Nakumara's. I didn't feel my hat on my head when he touched my forehead and I knew that must've flown off somewhere else.

Dan continued to diagnose me, "We should get her to a hospital; she may need some stitches."

"You son of a bitch!" Russel shook Murdoc's body, because then he started to groan and yell. "You gave my daughter stitches! And you're going to get it a lot worse!"

I knew he was pulling back to punch him, so I moaned. I felt funny though. Like something was tickling me inside. "Stop it."

"Wait a minute! She's awake!" 2D said quickly.

Everything stopped then, followed by a slumped crash and Murdoc groaned 'Christ!'. Then some quick shuffling and an enormous warm hand was on the side of my face.

"Destiny!" Russel cried in a bubbly voice. "How are you? Are you okay?"

I don't know why, but him asking me that made me more ticklish inside. I felt silly. Goofy and hyper. Like my whole body was filled with laughing gas instead of oxygen and my blood replaced with liquid sugar. I _burst _into laughter and my eyes shot open. Everyone was looking at me with stunned eyes. Murdoc more frightful then the rest and Russel more sad. He'd been crying.

"Destiny?" Russel asked me after a minute of laughter. I didn't stop to respond. "Why in Sam's hell are you laughing, child?"

"Because it's funny!" I looked around. All my senses had been heightened and it was exhilarating! I didn't feel like I was kidnapped and forced to sing! I felt like I was on vacation and wanted to scream my lungs out! The sun was out, and everyone looked like they were drawn-

Then it hit me; I had finally become a cartoon. I was now one with the band and the world they live in, where everything was light. I felt like I was pulled out of dark waters and brought up to some kind of insane Freakazoid cartoon. And it made me want to laugh.

"I'm a cartoon, Daddy!" I said and rubbed the back of my head. When I pulled it back to look at it, my hand was covered in blood and I laughed so hard, my sides hurt. I continued to rub my head and whip the tears from my face, causing blood to cover my cheeks. I felt so on air, that pain had never hit me once.

Everyone, however, was so freaked out by me, that Murdoc smacked me across the face yelling 'SNAP OUTTA IT!', and Russel and Dan took me to a doctor. I didn't need stitches cause I was a cartoon now, and cartoons don't need any medical help. Apparently I'll be fine in the next episode.

* * *

**It's kinda short, but I'm glad that now I can write Destiny as a bubblier character. :) She seemed really dark before and I'm glad that now I can relate her to the band more ^-^**

**Rate, Comment, ya da ya da**

**Murdoc: Do it, or I won't be in the next chapter. I will _refuse_ to!**

**Me: You can't refuse to! I MAKE YOU!**

**Murdoc: NO!**

**Me: Fine...I guess I'll just have to include you as 'Mudsy' instead...**

**Murdoc: O_O I hate you.**

**Me: SQQUUUUEEEE! *glomps***


	13. Chapter 13

**I got a message from a fan and that made me so happy =3 I was gonna write more and more and finish up this whole Jamaica adventure in one fowl swoop, but it's 11 at night, I'm gonna hang with my bf tomorrow, and I find this impossible to make any longer. Besides, I ended it on 6,969. XD That's funny XD**

**So sorry, sojaship, but there's not that thing I talked about with you in this chappie T_T GOMEN!**

**RECAP: Destiny is weird in a cartoon way like the rest of the band now, because she was punched out by Murdoc. Jerk.**

**Murdoc: I am so badass**

**Me: DON'T INTERRUPT THE RECAP! Anyway, she got weird and I think that's all that's important...It was a short chappie. But this one is long...I won't hold you up anymore. XD**It's a few days later since the incident outside of GeeJams studio and I'm still buzzing like a bumblebee. My 'Cartoon Me' was really neat, and a lot different than regular me. What I mean is, a lot about my appearance was different (Since the obvious cartoon-character personality changed). For example, I don't have any eye color. Which 2-D found disappointing, because he loves the color of my eyes. But when I asked him further about why, he says he doesn't remember what they look like, just that he loved them. Typical 2D.

* * *

My prediction of caving into singing did come true, but with the surprise that I did it _willingly_! I sang back-up for 'Re-Hash', '5/4', 'Tomorrow Comes Today', New Genious', and _screamed _in 'M1-A1'! I even got to debut in '19/2000' with Noodle and we got to be in the booth at the same time. Russel was so proud that he cried and had to leave the room and 2D got such a kick out of it, that he hugged me really tight and really long, which made me blush…a lot…

And that means that the album is pretty much finished! All that's left to do is send it in for some kind of final publishing in New York, and then actually release it into the millions of stores. But- of course- the album isn't going to be put on the shelves _right away_ yet, because Murdoc's "Master Plan" didn't allow that.

"First," He prompted us, straight from a clipboard he started to carry around. "We make the album."

"Check," I say from my seat at the dining table. We were all gathered in our hotel room and today is May 6h; the day before we leave to go back to Kong Studios. And I can't wait. I'm so homesick I could die. Which is weird, because I miss _Kong Studios _and the place is disgusting. "Do we really have to go over this again? It's, like, the sixth time and I still have to go pack-"

"This is totally neca- …ness, nec, nec-ca" Murdoc stuttered.

"Necessary? Ow!" Murdoc came behind me and smacked my head

Then he continued, "Second, we master the album."

"We can't do that, Muds." Russel interrupted.

Then Murdoc screamed, "WHY THE HELL NOT?"

And Russel said calmly, "Because Howie Weinberg is going to be busy until the end of the month. He's producing an album for someone else." Murdoc's face went blank. "I told you this before, too. Well, it's the same person. Same album." Russel rolled his eyes at this.

"Fuckin' Madonna! Priss!" Murdoc spat. He was circling the table like a shark and when he said that, he was over 2-D which made him jump a little. The lack of medicine was starting to get to him and he looked paler than usual. He was also rubbing his temples more often.

Noodle, however, was playing Minesweeper on my laptop and won her fifth game in a row. She started another one, intent on beating her previous score. I envied how she wasn't stuck in the middle of this conversation.

Not like me. "So? We can find another person to master it, right? I mean, it doesn't _have_ to be sent to Howie, right?" I said, obviously not having a clue about what I was talking about.

Murdoc sent me a glare, then rolled his eyes. "Children. Don't know what they're talking about."

I stuck my tongue out at him.

He stuck his back out at me. His was longer.

"Touché," I said with a goofy smile.

By now, Murdoc had been sitting in his seat. He folded his hands in front of his face with a look of dark concentration on his face. You know, the kind he gets when he's _supposed _to, but never does.

'Like when he plays bass. It took more than enough takes of his stuff to get in a song.' I thought and this made me laugh out loud. (LOL!) Everyone gave me weird looks except for Murdoc. "Sorry."

"I have it," Murdoc said with a slam of his palm on the table and sat further back in his chair. A pleasant look was in his eyes and this scared me.

"What is it?" Russel asked, with the same look of fear in his white eyes.

"We stay here!" Murdoc said. "Vacation! We'll just hang around Jamaica until the month is over, shoot the album up to New York, and have Ol' Howie Berger do the rest. _Then_ we'll head on home and finish the rest of the Master Plan."

It was silent for a moment.

"You do realize you are _insane_, right?" Murdoc smacked my head again. "Ow! Daddy! Murdoc hit me!"

"Murdoc, stop smacking your daughter. Destiny, stop whining." Russel said, rubbing his forehead. We both crossed our arms. "She does have a point, though. We're not exactly rich (yet), so it's not like we can afford to do whatever we want (yet). So don't go wasting all our money (yet) or else we won't be able to pay your prestigious Howie Weinberg.

"Also, we're gonna have to go back anyway to find a director for our first music video."

"Oh! Really? Which song is gonna be our first music video?" I asked excitingly. I never heard of a music video until it was explained to me and this was the first time anyone mentioned us doing one.

"Shuddup, it's only the 'Tomorrow Today' one." Murdoc said, waving me a dismissive hand. I was silently thrilled. I love 'Tomorrow Comes Today'! Then Noodle turned my laptop towards Russel- who was sitting beside her- and said, "Mistake! Mistake!" She was showing him my e-mail inbox where Damon had sent me a link to a news website in England and the top story was of how nobody knows where 'The Prodigy; Destiny Hobbs' is, and how employees from the airport we took to Jamaica say they saw my guardians and I with a tall blue-haired man and a small Asian girl running off to this island.

Another e-mail was from our label, EMI records, who demanded to stop all the rumors or they wouldn't represent Gorillaz anymore.

"If we don't go do some damage control," Russel said. "We might be charged with some kind of kidnapping thing, too."

"What? That's a load of rubbish!" Murdoc complained.

2-D, with a worried expression on his face, finally contributed to the conversation, "Deaftiny would never allow tem to take 'er away, though, right?"

Russel nodded assuringly towards him and after a while he sighted and said, "Yeah, well, _we_ know that we didn't kidnap her, but look at it from the public's point of view."

So I thought about what he meant, and he was right. Because the way I looked at, the way the public could look at it was like this:

`Kidnap Prodigy from Queen's performance;

`Missing Prodigy for two months and turns up at Kong Studios, a shady, secluded building on top of a mountain surrounded by a graveyard and garbage dump;

`Sudden TV appearance on the telly saying she's alright, but doesn't mention anything about who her new guardians are and they aren't there with her;

`And finally, sudden unannounced trip to Jamaica, making it a grand total of practically a year of no one hearing from the Prodigy.

"This is what we're gonna do now," Russel was saying as I thought about this. "I'll head back to do damage control. I'll bring Destiny and we'll do an interview for The Sun and do damage control." Noodle tugged on Russel's sleeve and whined a few times. "I'll take Noodle with me too."

"Really?" I asked her. "Are you sure you want to go?"

[It's like, midnight and I'm too lazy to translate English to Japanese, so I'm not gonna bother with Noodle's Japanese] Noodle nodded and said in mock-English, "Home-sick."

I shrugged, "Okay, I guess Noodle is coming too."

"Me too," 2-D said, raising his hand like he was taking a majority vote or something. "Wherever Deaftiny goes, I wanna go wif." I felt all the blood in my body go to my face after he said this, and I smiled to myself. He looked at me and smiled too. "Deaftiny and I were togetha when we were kids, and we're gonna stick togetha now."

"But you're not her official guardian," Russel said, confused by it all.

"Yeah, but _I _am!" Murdoc said, jabbing his thumb at himself. "And if I'm staying in Jamaica, then so is the squirt. I'm not having this 'majority vote' bullshit!"

"Wha-? Why me?" I asked freaked out.

"Because," Murdoc went on, counting it off on his fingers. "There's a party tonight and I wanna go, and if I go- which I am!- then I'm gonna need someone to take me home when I'm too drunk and _usually _that someone is the sad numbskull of an excuse we call a lead singer, and if the numbskull is clinging the squirt tighter than her jeans, than she's staying 'ere!"

"I can't believe you fixed out all that logic by yourself in less than five minutes," I said with a stern smile. "And I'm not a squirt and he's not a numbskull!"

"Besides, I have just as much power over her as you do, if not, more!" Murdoc continued arguing to Russel who was checking his watch. "I'm stuck in this gar-di-an [Murdoc's way of pronouncing 'guardian'] adoption shit too- I signed my name- _and _I get bonus points since I'm her band manager too!"

"That's not how it works, nimrod, there's no point system in adoption!" I scolded him before turning to Russel with a desperate look. "Daddy, please don't make me stay! If I do, than Murdoc will get me killed!"

Russel took a long sigh and dragged his hand down his face before deciding, "Destiny, you stay here in Jamaica with Murdoc and 2-D."

"Yes!"

"Nooooo!" And that was that. Russel's final decision left me on an island with Murdoc and 2-D…Not a great combination.

* * *

The next day at two a.m., Russel came into the bedroom and took Noodle with him. She was still asleep and he picked her up in his arms and left the door cracked. Then I opened my eyes, stopped pretending to be asleep, and let a small sigh escaped my lips.

'I don't wanna be here! I want to go on the plane back home too!' I thought and shut my eyes really hard, wishing Russel would pick me up and take me in his arms to the plane that would take me back to England. 'Calm down, just go back to sleep. Besides, it's not like it's forever.'

I went back in my mind to the conversation with Russel that happened after the incident and when I vented to him how upset I was about staying in Jamaica.

* * *

"It's not fair!" I complained, rolling around on my stomach and beating my fists in the pillow of his bed. "I don't want to be here! I wanna go home! You're such a mean parent! I hate you!"

"Now, now, sweetie, you don't mean that," Russel said in an annoyingly calm voice as he packed away his clothes in a suitcase.

"But _whhhhhhy _did you tell him I could stay? Don't you love me? Do you _want_ me to get killed? I mean, what if Murdoc _rapes_ me or something!"

Russel looked at me with a hard look that made me drop the whiny brat act. "Destiny, you stop saying that right now. You're a big girl now and you can take care of yourself. You should know better than to think of Murdoc like that. He may act like a big shot, but he _does _care for you and wouldn't hurt you." I looked away from him, wishing I could take back what I said.

"I'm sorry," I murmured and climbed on his back to kiss his head. There was a moment of silence as I helped him fold his clothes while on his shoulders. "Why did you tell him I have to stay again?"

"Destiny, we've been over this."

"Yeah, but one more time? Pleeeeaaase?"

Russel sighed before repeating over, "Because you're going to be the responsible one outta the three of you. I know that 2D nor Murdoc will be able to take care of themselves and you do a better job of it. Besides, Noodle is homesick and I have to go take care of things back home for getting ready for the 'Tomorrow Comes Today' video, and for straitening out the media trouble."

I sighed longingly, "But I'm homesick too."

"I know that, but you don't kick and scream when you want something and don't get it unlike Noodle. The communication problem makes it hard to please her and you should know better than anyone else how hard that can be."

"So shouldn't I come with you since I can _kind of _interpret her Japanese?" I asked, hinting.

Russel got a hard face again, "You are staying here with the guys. That's final." I became limp on his shoulders, hanging in front of his face with a frown. He lifted me off of him and set me on his bed with ease. "At least be happy that you can be here with 2-D. At least you two have some history."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." I paused again and scoffed. "I think I'll just cling to him and avoid Murdoc completely, you know? I mean, it's not like I _have _to talk to him-"

Russel sighed, stopped packing completely, and rose to his feet while crossing his arms. He looked ten stories high and very authoritative. "You really need to get over this thing you have with Murdoc."

"What thing?"

"You avoiding him and him hurting you. I mean, can't you just make peace?"

"_HE PUNCHED MY FACE!_"I said, stressing the words. "It's not like you can just forget something like that!"

"Yeah, I haven't forgotten about him doing that," Russel said and rubbed his bald head. "It's just, 2D gets it worse than you- even he's being held here against his will- yet he doesn't lash out at Murdoc like you do. It's just unnatural that you do that. We're all going to have to live with each other anyway, so you might as well enjoy it, you know what I mean?" I frowned. "At least try talking to him, okay? He's not as bad-ass as he likes to make himself look."

Russel's watch beeped then and he pressed a button on it. "I need to get to sleep if I want to catch that plane tomorrow and you need your rest. Go brush your teeth before you get in bed, you hear?"

I still frowned at him and tilted my head down adding puppy eyes. "But I don't want you to go, Daddy. I'ma miss you."

He kissed the top of my head and hugged my tiny body. I couldn't hug back, so I just pressed my head to him. "I know, child. And I'm going to miss you every second, okay? I'll even write if you want."

I nodded. "Send it to my e-mail?"

He chuckled. "Of course I will. Now go to sleep. And please think about what I said. Try your best to make it work, okay?"

"Yes, daddy." I said in a sucking-up kind of way before I skipped out of his room and went to my own.

* * *

Now that I'm laying in bed at two am, I had the chance to frown at the idea. 'Two weeks of being stuck in Jamaica with 2-D and Murdoc…Argh! If Murdoc isn't such a bully like Russel says he is, why doesn't he stop being one? I don't believe him one bit.'

As I thought that, Russel came back in the room for Noodle's luggage. I pretended to be asleep again. It was silent for a while and I thought he had left, but instead he walked over to my bed and kissed my forehead.

"I love you, Destiny. You're the best daughter in the world," He whispered before petting my hair, taking Noodle's tiny suitcase, and closing the door after he left.

I smiled really big as I laid there and felt my face turn a light shade of pink. Then I rolled onto my side, curled up in the blankets and slept.

'…Maybe I should try to talk to Murdoc. Just to make Russel happy…"

* * *

Five days into the first week of "vacation" I walked into the living room, yawned, and almost said a 'good morning' to 2-D before noticing he was sitting on the couch, playing Minesweeper on my laptop and mindlessly losing.

"So…" I trailed instead, watching over his shoulder. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Tryna beat Noodle's high score cause I can't figure out how to open Pong. But I don' really like all the numbers and stuff." I reached over his shoulder and opened a game of Pong. He smiled at the little ball and turned towards me while saying, "Fanks, Deaftin- WHOA!"

"What?" I asked, jumping off the couch like he did.

"Wot 'appened to you?"

"What do you mean?"

He pointed at my head and said shakily, "Your hair! It-it-it's gone!"

I reached up and touched the ends of my bangs. I wasn't wearing my hat, so I thought that was the problem, but relieved to find out why 2D was so shocked. "Oh yeah. I just cut it a little, that's all. It was getting a little long." I shrugged and went into the fridge in the kitchen to get milk for some cereal.

"Long?" He asked, behind me suddenly, and ran his hand through the back of my head. "It was only a lil' pass your soulders, and now it's above your chin, Love. It's really short."

I felt red go down my body, starting at my head and traveling down, after he said this and spun away from the fridge and his body. "I-I-I don't think it's sh-short," I stammered as I sat down at the table and started eating.

2-D came behind me again and ran his hands over each side of my head, letting his fingers get lost in my thick waves. "I just fought it looks good is all. I mean witout your 'at. You look really prit-y."

Then I let out a really long "uuuuuhhhh" and Murdoc came in, sleepily. He was only wearing his briefs that were off-white from being washed too much. He saw the two of us and his pink eye widened.

"'Ey! You two!" He barked, making us both look up at him. "Wot's going on 'ere, huh?"

"Noffink, Murdoc," 2-D mumbled and took one hand away from my hair to point at it. "Deaftiny got her hair cut!"

Murdoc looked down at me and back to 2-D, waved a dismissive hand, and mumbled, "Eah, yeah, it's good and what-not." while stumbling to the fridge and taking out a water bottle.

Normally I would yell back at him demanding to know what he meant by that, but I kind of looked at him now with the mindset that I'm going trying to make peace. It hadn't been so hard, because Murdoc had been sleeping in his room all day and night, coming out only for meals and to go to the beach where he slept more. This was his first permanent awakening. I think he must've been so drunk, that he had to sleep it off because now he looked completely drained of alcohol…and it looked good on him cause he was actually acting…normal!

"Wot're you looking at, short hair?" Murdoc asked. He looked at me with a flat and questioning look.

I shook my head to relieve my staring at him, "Oh, nothing." I dismissed and brought up a new subject. "What are the plans for today then?"

Murdoc shrugged as he came walking over to us and crossed his arms over the back of a chair. "I don't know, maybe go to the beach?"

"Really? Cause we've been to the beach, like, all week."

"No, _I've _been to the beach all week. Why don't you and 2-Dents come with me?" He offered, which started to freak me out. **MURDOC IS NEVER THIS NICE!**

"I can't, Muds, I gotta run out to the market," I said with the confusion in my voice.

He shrugged again with wide innocent eyes, "So? Tell you what, how about we go down to the beach while you shop, then you can come home and drop off the stuff, call me on my telly, and I'll swing by and pick you up when you're done. Then we'll eat out or something."

"Wow, really?" I asked, blinking in surprise. "Well, okay. That sounds really nice, actually."

"I'll wait here for Deaftiny 'til she gets back," 2-D followed up.

"Wha- why me?" I asked. "You should go to the beach early with Murdoc!"

"Yeah, but you're gonna need help wit the groceries when you get back," 2-D smiled and gave me side hug. Which was kind of awkward because I was still sitting down, so it was more like a hip hug. Typical 2-D.

"Okay, then. I'll go change and get to the store then!" I said as Murdoc finished his water and threw it in the trash in the kitchen. "Is there anything you guys wanna eat in specific?"

"If you happen to find any deviled eggs, could you buy a dozen of them?" Murdoc asked me, beginning to walk towards his room. "Oh, and a case of carrot juice?"

"And I'd love some pickles!" 2D bursted out. "Like, two jars of pickles, please!"

...

"…You guys are so weird." I said and opened the door. "See you later 2-D!"

"Bye, Love!"

"Don't call me that!" I called back.

* * *

Later I re-entered our hotel room with four bags around my arms just ready to break. The suite was too quiet. "2-D! I'm back!" I called out and put the bags on the table. "Can you help me put these in the fridge? They're melting!"

Still silence.

'He must be in the bathroom,' I thought and saw my laptop on. Pong was still going and the score was even on each side. I figured while I waited for 2D, I would check my e-mail.

A letter from Russel was in it. It had been sent on the same day that Russel and Noodle left and it read:

_Dear Destiny,_

_I honestly __**JUST **__landed back in England and we got ambushed. Everyone was asking us where you were and why you weren't with your legal guardian. Whatever you do, __**DO NOT LEAVE MURDOC'S SIDE OR WE'LL LOSE OUR RIGHT TO BE YOUR GUARDIANS!**_

I didn't get the chance to continue to read it because I went into a panic. "2D!" I yelled and slammed my fist on the bathroom door. "PLEASE tell me you're in there!" But the door flew open and no one was inside. I then ran to Murdoc's bedroom and dove across the queen to grab the phone on the other side table. I rang Murdoc's cell and he didn't pick up. "MURDOC! You're a moron!" I yelled at the phone and stumbled around the hotel room looking for some indication of where Murdoc or 2-D was.

Then I discovered a sticky note on the TV screen and it read:

_Dest: Went to a major party on the beach. No kids allowed…sucks to be you! Took 2D with me, be back tonight…maybe_

_-Murdoc_

_p.s. leave my eggs in the fridge._

"But Murdoc! You can't go to a party! You have to stay and- I'm yelling at a sticky note!" I yelled and crumpled the post-it in a tiny ball. Then, I threw it at the TV screen and felt bad, cause it wasn't the TV's fault.

**Knock knock**

"Hello? Anybody home?" A voice called from the hotel door and I jumped, hiding behind a couch.

'Nobody can know I'm here without one of my legal guardians! Or else I'll get taken away from the band!' I thought to myself and stayed as quiet as I could be. The door opened anyway and that meant that the person had a keycard to the room. 'A hotel person? Maybe it's the manager looking for me and making sure I'm with someone…!' Ever since I was a kid, I've learned that people are always willing to gossip about celebrities to make a quick buck. So I stayed quiet and crawled to the door, hiding behind couches. 'My only option is to find Murdoc and stick to him like _glue_!' I figured.

The person who intruded snooped around the room before they finally went into another bedroom and I made a break for the door. Luckily, I slipped out before anyone could notice me.

Later, I found out the person who came in was Dan, our producer, and he was looking for us to finish the album. Oh, well.

* * *

I went down the hallway quietly and slinked towards the elevator without anyone seeing me. Then I hid in a plant while I waited for it to come to my floor. While I did two women passed me and were saying, "Did you hear about what happened to the Prodigy?"

"You mean the Child Prodigy? I thought she disappeared!"

"Well, that's what we all thought until she was seen on a plane with three very odd-looking men and another young Asian girl!"

One woman gasped, "do you think she's part of a child slave trading camp now? I hear that Asians are on them a lot!" [No, its true. Don't yell at me like "RACIST!" again]

"I know! They were such colorful men too! One was green and another had blue hair…" She went on, but that was all I heard, for I had snuck away.

'This is horrible!' I thought, hiding behind another plant. 'How am I going to get to the beach now?'

Just my luck, there was a laundry elevator not far from me and I was light enough to sit in it down to the lobby. There weren't many people in it- except for the selected few who are always meant to be there ex: bellhop, desk manager, etc.- so it was fairly easy to sneak out through the backdoor.

Outside the hotel, many tourists were on the streets and I hid in a bunch of bushes beside the car lot. 'It's weird how I have a thing with plants,' I think and look around to find a way to the beach. 'It's a long way's off and I don't think there'll be a trail of potted plants to it either. I need some kind of transportation. Are there taxis in Jamaica? On Jamaica? It's not like I can wave one over anyway, because then I'd be putting the spotlight on me. Oh, what to do?'

A man with a very expensive-looking camera crossed the street and pulled over a couple who walked out of the hotel. "Excuse me," he said. "But do you know if this is where the Hobbs are staying?"

"The Hobbs?" The woman of the couple asked.

"Yes, they're foreigners…?"

"Oh, you mean that group of people," The man said assuringly,

"Good! Do you happen to know if the little girl came running past here?" The photographer asked the two.

"The girl?" The man questioned, suspiciously.

"You mean the Prodigy?" The woman asked with enthusiasm in her voice.

"Yes! That's the one! Possibly _alone_?"

'I have to disappear FAST!' I thought and watched a jeep pull past me. There were three surfboards in the back of it and they stopped to pick up another teen leaving the hotel. Luckily, the jeep stopped between the three people and where I was so I quickly dashed in the back of the jeep and hid.

* * *

The sun was almost down when I reached the beach house that was blasting music and loud voices, but not enough to touch the water. The sky was darkening into a pinkish orange and when the jeep passed the shack, it didn't stop. So, I jumped out of the back and tuck-and-rolled until I stopped. However, when I landed on the street, my arm was scratched up by the loose rubble in the middle of the road and caused a huge gash to poor blood down my arm and it hurt like hell.

"The sooner I find Murdoc and 2-D, the sooner I can get this fixed," I said aloud to myself and started towards the house.

It was a shabby, poorly-built thing of a waterfront house and when I stepped onto the patio, I felt like it was the bravest thing I was ever doing. The amount of people inside made it almost sink and I took a long deep breath before I opened the door. Inside, the walls were all wood-paneling and a horrible trashy song was blasting in the background. The ceiling was hidden behind a layer of smoke and I buried my nose in my hand just to be safe. Everyone gave me disgusted looks like I thought they smelt or something, but I figured it was because I was an underage with blood dripping off my arm. It was too crowded and I didn't think there wasn't a person in this place who wasn't high. I kept calling out for Murdoc, but I couldn't even hear my own voice. The place was so dimly lit that I couldn't adjust my eyes to see the green-skinned man.

'And I thought he'd be easy to find,' I thought, but continued on my search. Since I didn't want to be in this room, I moved to the other side of the room and found the deck that looked over the ocean. There were only teens outside who were making out and I was forced to bring myself back into the room. No Murdoc.

The next place I thought of looking was the large dance room that I entered in, but it was too crowded and I kept getting shoved back to where I began. I wouldn't be able to find him there even if I tried.

After, I looked along the paneled walls and saw three doors that blended with the wood. I tried to open one, but it was locked and on the other side a person screamed, "Jeez-us! Can't a guy fucking take a piss without a shit-brain banging every fu-" I didn't listen to the rest because I went to the door next to it. That was definitely not Murdoc.

The next room was locked. I tried calling for Murdoc, but I didn't hear him respond. I figured he wasn't there. I was scared and shivering and leaving a trail of dark blood everywhere I went. I was so scared and in so much pain, that I just wanted to go home. I was so desperate that I wanted to cling to Murdoc and get out of there as soon as possible.

"Murdoc?" I asked in my loudest voice when I opened the next door. Then I screamed, "HOLY-!"

"'EY! CLOSE THE DOOR, YA BUGGARD!"

"Sorry! I'll let you- I'm gonna- SORRY!" I screamed and closed the door. I was completely scared for life, but on the bright side, I found Murdoc. I- at least- know where to find him now.

And I know how big he is…Oh God, the mental image _WILL NOT EVER _go away!

I figured the next thing to do was to look for 2D, but the room was full of people who were so short, that it was easy to see he was not here. I went outside and rested on the deck's railing so I could wait for him, because maybe he was in the locked room and couldn't get out and Murdoc threw him in there so he wouldn't interrupt his-

**GOD, THE MENTAL IMAGE!**

I looked out at the sunset instead, and saw a tiny figure in the water looking at it. It was tall enough to see that it was 2-D and he was just wading out and staring off into space dressed in only his jeans that he cut into shorts and his bare chest. His shirt was on the beach far off away.

"2-D…!" I gasped and ran down the stairs that went to the beach, almost sprinting down the beach to reach him. "2-D! 2-D! Hey, 2D!" I kept screaming, ecstatic to see a familiar face and know that I was safe now. I didn't care about the people wanting to take my picture. I didn't care about Murdoc and the girl he was with. All I cared about was seeing 2D and have him take me home with Murdoc. Then he could sit on the couch with me in the room and we'll play Pong together.

When I was finally close enough, he turned around in the water and saw me and waved. He looked like a tiny dot in the water, probably fifty or so feet out in really shallow, teal water. I knew it was shallow because the water barely went over 2D's knees. I started to run out to him, even though I was out of breath already from running across the beach, but I didn't care. I was just so glad to see him, that I didn't even care if my jeans were getting wet!

"Love? Wot're you doin' 'ere?" He called to me when I was within earshot. The water barely went past my shin. 2D was all I saw with the sunset behind him, he was beautiful to look at.

"2D! You wouldn't believe what I went through! I was at-" But I couldn't finish for I tripped. I landed on my hands and knees though and the soft sand took most of the blow for me.

"Ow," I said more matter-of-factly than in actual pain. Then, I saw all the blood pool around me and saw my arm. It started to look like it was filled with puss and it quickly started to flare up in pain. "Ow! OW! OW! OW!" I started shrieking in agony and held onto my arm with my other hand, nursing it against my chest, but it kept hurting no matter where I put it. Blood started to stain my shirt and I was crying so loud and very high in pitch. It was the worst pain I ever felt in my life and the blood kept coming out. 2D was screaming at me about something and running at me, but I couldn't hear him too well over my own howls of pain.

And then, I felt light-headed.

And then, I blacked out.

* * *

When I woke up, I was jiggling and in the arms of someone. I looked up and saw 2-D carrying me bridal style (why is it called that anyway? Isn't there another term for that?) with a determined look on his face, sprinting back to shore. My bleeding arm was no longer cradled against my chest, but hanging loosely which didn't hurt so much. I still felt blood drip off my fingertips.

I moaned, "Stu…art?"

He instantly looked down at me with tender eyes and said, "Don' worry, Deaftiny, I'll save you! Just hang out and stay conscious for me, please!" Then he shifted his gaze back to the beach. When we reached there, he set me down gently, and lifted my arm. "Tis is wot you gotta do for me, Love; Hold your arm up in the air and keep it there. Don't move it."

"It hurts, 2D. A lot," I whined in my high tone.

"I know, Love, I'm going to take care of you, but please do tis." He lifted it for me the way he wanted me to and kept his hands there to indicate my task of keeping it there. The blood dripped down from my wounds and trickled past my shoulder, which crept me out a bit, but the pain was leaving with it.

Then, he picked up his shirt that had been laying on the beach and shook out all the sand. When he made sure it was free of debris, he dabbed my arm of excess blood and dried it and wrapped it around my arm and neck like a swing. With every move he made, he was sure to do it swiftly and lightly, and he kept on a calm look of concentration. It made me look like a complete fool for trying to nurse it the way I did.

When he lowered my arm in the swing, he told me, "Tere. Tat should be okay until we can treat it betta, but it's good for now." Then he sat back in the sand and crossed his arms in his lap with an "unbelievable!" smile. "Wot are you doing 'ere? I tought kids weren't allowed 'ere."

"They aren't," I said with a little guilt and explained to him how I got back from the store and saw Russel's e-mail and how I got scratched up. "That's why I'm here…like this…"

2D blinked and stood up with a frantically worried look. "Ten we should go find Murdoc righ'? Cause he's, like, your legal guardian and witout him, you'll get taken away, righ'?" I nodded and told him where Murdoc was. "Oh…well, he's probably done now anyway. That means I hafta go get him and bring him home." He stood up and helped me stand and we started to walk back to the tiny shack. It was all the way across the beach, but I didn't mind spending the time with my blue-haired savior to get there.

"You know, you don't _have_ to bring him back, right?"

"No, I do." 2-D instantly responded.

"Well, what I mean is, it's not like it's your sworn mission. He should learn to drink responsibly and take care of himself if he wants to party like he does, right?" 2-D blinked at me, not following. "Never mind," I dismissed it with a sigh. On another note, I asked, "So, why aren't you partying with everyone too?"

2-D made a weird and disgusted face to the sand ahead in his path. "I don' like teh loud music in tere, it's just _awful_ music. And it gave me such a headache, that I just lef'…I'm not much of a party person anyway." 2D stopped and blinked. Then he continued walking. "You have blood on your shirt."

I looked down at my shirt and saw even more soaking through his. "Oh. I'm sorry about your shirt. I'll get you a new one, if that makes up for it."

"Don' worry 'bout it, Love, I'm just glad you're alrigh'."

"Yeah…2-D?"

"Yes, Love?"

"Stop calling me that," I began. "And how come you knew all stuff back there? I mean, it's not that you aren't smart or anything, but I didn't really expect…someone like you to know what to do like you did."

"Oh…well my mum's a nurse, so she used to teach me stuff like 'at. And the ocean havin' salt in it like tat was kind of common knowledge. I mean, I knew right away that that was wot was hurtin' you." I felt like a total moron for not knowing that. Stupid, stupid, stupid. "Besides, when I used to hear wot she would tell me, I kinda picked up some stuff, and it just made me feel smarta, I guess. For knowing tat stuff, I mean."

"Oh…well, thank you so much. I don't know what I would have done without you." I said with a slight blush and smiled.

"You-You're welcome," 2-D said back with a tint of pink in his face. The sun was hitting him like that and it was getting darker as we walked. "You must be tired from looking for us so much. Do you want me to carry you?"

When he suggested this I finally felt how tired my legs really were and 2-D was already bent over so that I could hop on his back. "Yes please…" I mumbled and got on.

And he held me all the way back to the house and I rested my head against his back and eventually my arm stopped bleeding. I felt as though all was right in the world.

* * *

**THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING! ^-^ Review, rate, or whatever, and send me a message if you like =) I check for them everyday, so they will surely not be missed.**

**Murdoc: Nobody's gonna message you.**

**Me: SHUDDUP!**

**Murdoc: Well, it's true! Not if you make yourself look so desperate for one!**

**Me: SHUDDUP! You should be practicing your nice scene for the next chapter anyway! (hint hint)**

**Murdoc: O_O YOU DID WHAT!**

**Me: MWAHAHAHA!**

**Murdoc: TAKE IT OUT RIGHT NOW!**

**Me: NEEVVVERRR! *runs away with Murdoc chasing me***


	14. Chapter 14

**I posted another picture of Destiny with her key/guitar because I felt like some people would be confused with the way I made up her instrument. So, it's still my deviantart account and its still gogorillazgone, so you can look it up if you want to.**

**And thanks sojaship for posting a picture of Destiny! It really helped me understand that I am (hopefully) describing her the way I'd like people to see her (physical-wise). =D I still love getting messages and reviews, so thanks guys!**

**This has A LOT of Mudsy fluff-**

**Murdoc: YOU SUCK! *shoots me***

**Me: *is invinciable* DEAL! Okay, I think the review will be long to type and stuff, so people go look back at it yourself if you forget. This is only some 3,000 words, but it ends the Jamaica saga. So, here you go! =D**"Muds! Pull up your pants, time to go!"

* * *

"Wha-?" _**DOOR**_ _**SLAM!**_

* * *

That was how we got Murdoc and went back to the hotel room. Then we threw Murdoc on the couch and my arm was bandaged by 2-D by white gauze. I wouldn't have to wear it for long though. I changed into a long-sleeved green shirt and a pair of tan capris so Murdoc wouldn't notice it and yell at me for getting hurt. It was dark now and the sun had gone down outside the windows, so nobody was on the streets including any form of paparazzi, so nobody bothered us when we were in the room. All was quiet again.

It kind of sucked having the drunk Murdoc again because as 2D and I put away the semi-melted frozen foods and other groceries, he whined _**REALLY **_loud for us to take care of his every need. He'd apparently tried to get some coconuts from a tree at the party and he fell, sliding a few discs out of his backbone so he was really loud and whiny. Every few seconds it was always "Awh, my back! I went and hurt my back! Come help me you sods!"

So when we finished I tried to clean up the poor basterd by feeding him, getting him a change of clothes, helping him dress (EW!), giving him a wastebasket to puke in, and stroking his back and brushing his hair out the way when he did puke. The loud whines and moans gave 2D another migraine so he left the room to his own to cope with it.

That left me in the same room as Murdoc. Alone at an ungodly hour in the morning.

'You better be proud of me now, Russel.' I thought as I walked back to Murdoc lying on the couch and shoved a water bottle into his chest. "Here, now stop your whining for a minute or two, okay?" I scolded sarcastically and wiped down the coffee table of any dinner plates and garbage.

After drinking down the bottle, he threw the plastic on the floor. "'Ey, don't yell at me! This is wot you get for not letting me finish with that fine-"

"Ew, Murdoc, I don't even want to know!" I said throwing my hands up and waving them to prevent his words (or something). "Besides, I'm _still_ trying to get rid of the mental image of when I walked in on you two! You're gonna do the same thing back home, anyway, so just let it go."

"Wot's _that_ supposed to mean?" He accused, glaring at me as I collapsed in a puffy armchair that was made of the same purple upholster on the couch Murdoc was on.

"It means you're a man-whore!" I blurted and he denied it. "Yeah, you are! I mean do you even know her name?"

"Of course I do! It's Allyson!" He paused. "No, that was the bird before her…" (Shout out to Allyson =D)

"Ew! You're such a disgusting man-whore!" I threw my arms up again, this time giving up, and rose, storming the room. 'I can't even sit still, I'm so mad!'

"Yeah! Well, I know what you are, but what am I?"

I stopped and looked at him with a 'you're stupid' face. "You're a man-whore…no, what, that doesn't even make sense!" I retorted, after realizing I was being called a man-whore.

"Yeah? Well, I already know what I am; A musician! What're you?" He asked me then. I still think he's drunk.

"I'm a musician too, you dummy! In fact, I've been doing this longer than you have!"

He took this to offense and looked at me like a bull seeing red. It was the most menacing look I ever saw him give me. Or anyone. "Oh no you have not!"

"Yeah I have!" I yelled back, jabbing a thumb to my chest.

"You don't know a thing about that, runt! And who do you think you are to think so?"

"The girl who's been playing for nine years- That's my whole life! And I actually work hard at it because I have passion for it and what I do!" "I've played since I was in high school! That's almost twenty years!" Murdoc yelled at me, standing now. "And I _do_ work hard at it! You don't even know the meaning of 'working hard'! You just got all your fame and practice from watching your older brother! Didn't have to work hard at it like I did, Oh_ nooo_, you just let someone else do all the hard work for you, and when your rinky-dink older brother gave up, you just took his place like it was nobody's business!

"And you don't have passion for it, so don't start that with me! You don't even have enough passion to share with the band! You're so full of yourself- you can't even change your clothes for the band! So don't talk to _me _about being better'til you can stop being so full of your so-called _fame_." He finished yelling and slumped back down in the couch.

I was taken aback. I didn't know he cared so much about Gorillaz…I didn't know he played bass for that long. And I definitely didn't know he was _that_ old!

But now that I thought about it, he looked pretty mad when I insulted his musical abilities…maybe he did have more of a passion for it…I shouldn't have accused him for not being dedicated because, honestly, I really don't know much about Murdoc. I don't know how long he played the bass or what else he did in high school. Maybe he worked really hard on this band. And maybe…that's why he works so hard on me.

Suddenly I heard myself ask, "Why are you so hard on me all the time?" And it was out before I could stop.

Murdoc looked at me in confusion and asked, "_Excuse me_?"

I followed up my question with bravery and nodded walking to the couch again and stood at the end of it. Not directly in front of him, but a good feet away. "Yeah…you're always telling me to practice and pick on me, but you never tell Noodle to. Or Russel. You do bully 2-D and stuff, but you're not exactly on his case about being a good singer, either. So why me?"

Murdoc gave me a blank look. "Because you're a smart-ass runt, that's why!"

"Russel is witty too. Why me?"

"Well, you're just a kid, that's why!"

"Noodle's just a year older than me. Why me?"

Murdoc stuttered, "Y-you just annoy me! You're so annoying!"

"You think everyone is annoying!"

"You _especially_ annoy me."

"No, 2-D annoys you the most. _Why me_?"

Murdoc was still. He didn't answer my question right away, just kind of stared off behind me. I think I finally got it.

The reason he's so hard on me, the constant practicing, why he wants me to stay in the band and say that I will, why he wants me to sing so badly on the album, my new room that's totally decked out, the new clothes, laptop, and other belongings- it all made sense.

I said to him, "Maybe you really aren't as hard-ass as you'd like everyone to think. Maybe you have soft spots. And you have these spots for me. Like I'm a kind of person you have a soft spot for." I said, piecing it all together.

"Wait a minute, I am _not_-" I interrupted Murdoc with a look of challenge. I couldn't see how he could get out of this one, so with a look of defeat, he nodded. "You really think you're all that important, huh?"

I shook my head. "Nah. You just think I do because you don't want to loose me." I said in a mushy tone.

Murdoc was silent and his eyes darted around the room until he finally settled on something. "The album is about to release and I think it'll be too late by then to ask this, so," Murdoc paused and placed his elbows on his knees, hunching over the edge of his seat. Then he cupped his hands and looked in my direction, "Do you really not want to be in the band?" I was shocked. Was what he trying to pull? "Because I'm sure Russel will set you up with some kind of adoption like you told me when you tried leaving the first time. I won't force you into this any longer."

He wasn't trying to pull anything. This was my real chance to be in a normal family with a real mom and dad. Possibly my own! I could live a normal life and never have to play music again or be in publicity or anything!

But if I did take Murdoc up on his offer, I would be giving up the Gorillaz. Letting down the band and their new career. I would never perform with them again like I did at the Camden Brownhouse. Damon and I would never work with each other again. I couldn't live in Kong anymore either and I would be far away from them. Even being a cartoon would cease to exist for me.

2D would be heartbroken. Noodle would never speak to me again. And Russel…

* * *

I stood in the living room there for what seemed like all night. It must've been an hour at least that I was thinking this over. I didn't know what to do. I longed for a family of my own, but I also didn't want to disappoint my friends. I was stuck.

Murdoc waited patiently for me while I waited. He didn't try to coax me to leave and he didn't try to convince me to stay in the band either. He simply kept his hunched position on the couch with his forehead leaned against his hands like he was praying or something, but he didn't keep his hands flat against each other.

I was so confused and upset. My head started pounding and my eyes blurred. Tears started to fall and I didn't know where they came from. I grabbed my head, "I don't know what to do!" I heard myself cry. "I'm only nine! I'm just a kid, Murdoc, I can't make this decision!" Suddenly, large sobs came from me and I was choking after each one. I felt so suffocated that Murdoc look at me worryingly.

"Have you…have you really never given this thought?" He asked.

"No," I said, sniffling a little. "I mean, Derrick and I talked about it when he was alive and we planned to find our parents and all, but…"

Murdoc was quiet, then he said, "Alive?"

I became quiet too. The band didn't know that Derrick was dead, and I just blew that secret. "I mean, he just, well, I…Murd-"

"Whatever, I don't need to know," Murdoc waved it off and asked again, "Do you want to be in the band or not?" He pressed further and further and I knew he was sober now. He was acting too normal again.

"Well…" I thought more. The fresh topic of my brother raised another question in my head that I didn't consider before and the answer to it was the deal maker;

'What would Derrick want for me?' I thought, 'He would want me to stay; I know that. He would want to see me grow and be happy here and go on an adventure and be surrounded by new friends instead of living a boring life. Derrick would.'

So I sat beside Murdoc and he folded my hands in my lap. He shifted awkwardly from how I close I was, but I ignored it. "I want to stay Murdoc. I am dedicated to the band and I'd miss it all too much."

Murdoc didn't really look surprised, but more content. He placed a hand on my shoulder and smiled a devious smirk. "I know you are, runt. It's about time you fessed up." I felt stupid for trying to make a moment out of this. He was still a jerk, no matter how deep a conversation can get.

So that's that. I am a total Gorillaz member no matter what. There was no doubt in my mind anymore.

I stayed quiet for a little while. Then I said, "You know, I think the biggest reason why I wasn't comfortable here was because I didn't know anything about you…or Russel…or Noodle. You're all still strangers to me. It's kind of…awkward."

Murdoc contemplated this and finally shrugged. "Well, the contract says you get privacy, I do! So nothing from me!" Then he got up and walked towards his room.

I flared up again and rose to my feet angrily. "You're such a jerk, you know that!" I screamed at him.

"Yeah! If I'm such a jerk then why am I not going to tell anyone the truth about your brother, huh?" I stopped then and looked at him. He was smiling, and it was genuine. But just as soon as it came, it was gone. "Get some sleep now, squirt. We're leaving tomorrow."

* * *

The next day we hopped on the next flight to London. 2-D was totally clueless to our conversation last night, having passed out after he went to his room. Murdoc was once again a total jerk to everyone and everything, but this time around I knew it was because he was secretly putting up a front so nobody would know that he's really a softie. At least to me anyway.

It was saddening to say goodbye to Dan Nakumara, but we did it knowing that it wasn't a final farewell. He even drove us to the airport because he wanted to be the person to see us off.

It was like déjà vu when we got on the plane again. I sent an e-mail to Damon and Russel saying that we were coming home early, and they responded with how happy they were, then I had to turn off my laptop. Murdoc came down the aisle whistling 'Double Bass' this time and screamed at 2D to move out of the aisle seat.

"I told you last time! **I **sit in the aisle seat! **ME**! Move your arse!" 2-D lowered his head and was about to shift to the seat beside that.

"No! Not to that seat!" He screamed at him and we both looked at him with weird expressions. "Get in Destiny's seat! I want _her_ to sit between us!"

He said it like it was just another order he was giving and not something that completely touched my heart or was out of his character. I smiled an honored kind of bashful smile and felt my cheeks tint. Which was weird because it was the first actual time he made me blush.

"'Ey! Are you even listening to me, half-pint? **MOVE**!" Murdoc pointed to the seat beside him and looked at me menacingly.

"You got it, boss," I said and shifted myself and my stuff to the seat between Murdoc and 2-D. The poor singer was totally clueless as to why Murdoc was like this, but I still felt really proud and happy that Murdoc was somewhat being nicer to me now.

That is, I thought this until he murdered my hand again in his death grip. Then I felt hate for him all over again. **TYPICAL MURDOC!**

**End Saga 2**

* * *

**Woo! Tis teh end (of this saga) Thanks for reading! Keep posting your reviews and stuff =3 Tell me what you think please, I'd love to make this better for the reader if I can.**

**So! Will Destiny explain what happened to her brother?**

**Will 2D and Destiny ever have another moment of attraction?**

**Will Russel eat Noodle? (No, that won't happen)**

**Will Martoche come back to seek revenge somehow?**

**Will Destiny sing again?**

**Will Murdoc be nice again? (Murdoc: NO I WILL NOT!) Yeah, you will.**

**Will the album sell millions upon release? (Murdoc: HELL YA!) Shut up!**

**When will Jamie Hewlett get in on the story? (Actually next chappie...)**

**Will Destiny become suddenly depressed like her doctor said she will?**

**And finally, how will I write the music videos into this such as Tomorrow Comes Today? Clint Eastwood? 19-2000? etc?**

**Actually, I don't know how to do that yet. I think the fanfic will become a songfic in those few chapters =/ Sorry...um...find out all these answers within the next saga of Ms. Kong Studios!**

**Murdoc: You done yet?**

**Me: -.- ...yes...**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hrm, where do I begin? Let's try, thanks for the 2,000 hits?**

**Murdoc: No.**

**=/ Okay...how about how this chapter will be possibly the most informational one yet?**

**Murdoc again: Still No.**

**_ Ok...Oh! How about how somebody sent me a fanpic with their iTouch on an app called MakeME and I posted it on my deviantart account, gogorillazgone? =D**

**Murdoc: You've _got_ to be kidding me?**

**-.- Fine. Lets just start the RECAP.**

**RECAP: Destiny and 2-D brought the drunk and broken Murdoc back to the hotel room in Jamaica and Destiny had to nurse him back to his standard of health. After arguing over Murdoc's musical abilites and Destiny's passion towards the band, she discovers that she knows little about the green man and that he has a secret soft spot for Destiny's childhood. (Murdoc: DO NOT!) Shuddup! So, Murdoc offered her a chance to leave Gorillaz before the album releases and find her a real home with her real parents, but poor Destiny doesn't know what to do. This is because she doesn't know if this goes along with her brother's dying wish, revealing that he's, well...dead.**

**Murdoc: Duuuh.**

**But Murdoc pomised not to tell the other bandmates.**

**Murdoc: For now anyway.**

**Forever. -.- They went back home the next day, where Murdoc once again squeezed Destiny's life out of her...practically. ANYWAY!**

* * *

_Destiny,_

_I'm so glad you're coming back! Noodle really misses you and I can't convince her that the three of you will be coming back. She thinks you abandoned Kong forever or something._

_I went to the nearest donut shop one day and thousands of people came up to me asking about what happened to you, so needless to say I got that cleared up. I explained everything then and there, so the rumors were killed in one foul swoop. But I'd still be cautious when you guys get back home. Kong is surrounded with paparazzi._

_See you soon!_

_Russel_

* * *

Easy to say, Russel was right. Getting back to our house was painful work.

Kong was surrounded by people with cameras and tried multiple times to take our pictures and interview. And for once I was happy Murdoc was driving, because he simply drove up the mountain, ignoring the mobs. He had a snowplow tied to the front of his car.

Noodle brought me to the floor when I got home and hugged me to death, bawling her eyes out about how much she missed me or something. When I got up from her hug, I was again tackled by Russel and, comparatively, I preferred Noodle's hug. She was less suffocating.

We got back in England on a Monday, the 21st. The date now is the following Wednesday, the 24th, and Howie Weinberg of New York _still _won't master the album. Dan Nakumara messaged me that he was going to hold on to the tracks until they were ready to be mastered, so it was all just a matter of chilling out and taking time to relax.

Which is what we all had in mind at this very moment.

"I'm not being funny, but could you, like, stop talking to Dan Nakumara?" Murdoc growled at me and took my laptop from me.

"Hey! I was doing something on that, you jerk!" I said back and stood up. The lobby was once empty and I took a moment there to e-mail our beloved producer, but Murdoc was here now and so was the rest of the band.

"Too bad, you're not anymore," Murdoc said and threw my laptop in the elevator and it went away. "Get dressed. We're goin' out." This was apparent since the other three were wearing their jackets and shoes ready to leave already. I was the last to be informed. I pouted and put on my military-style jacket. I was already wearing jeans, my hat, the wheelies, and a light blue shirt with the words 'Evil Mutiny' in blood red and a picture of zombie silhouettes underneath- another favorite of 2D's. "You could've just told me instead of throwing my laptop away like it's garbage," I grumbled.

"Your face is garbage," Murdoc retorted.

"Better than your's!"

"Your face is better than your's."

"That doesn't even make sense!"

"YOUR FACE DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!" Murdoc said again, having no better reply and then someone knocked at the door. He stormed over to it and threw it open, instantly yelling in the person's face, "WHAT?"

I ignored who he was talking to- probably just another interviewer anyway- and walked over to Russel. "What are we going out for, anyway?"

"Pizza and skeeball. Zip up, girl, it's cold outside," I did as told and 2-D was very excited when he mentioned skeeball. I guess it is kind of relevant to Pong. "None of us feel like cooking tonight anyway." I agreed with this because cooking for these four is ridiculous. Especially since I suck at cooking.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Get out of here, you buggar!" Murdoc screamed at the person in the doorway.

"Please! Let me see her! I know she's in here!" Another voice came from there and it sounded somewhat familiar. Curiously I moved to the doorway beside Murdoc, and froze when I saw who was there. "Destiny!" He said in relief.

"You _know_ who this is?" Murdoc questioned me, but I didn't dare reply.

It was Mr. Martoche.

I felt ready to vomit. My stomach turned over and it was like all the blood left my body, leaving my hands to be clammy and cold. My knees shook and I was fully prepared to pass out if not for the burning rage that bubbled instantly after all these feelings that fueled and re-kindled all the hate that I once had for this man. And I only just got over it all, too.

"Destiny! Is…can it be? Is it really you?" He asked like I was a phantom and would disappear if he reached out to me. I noticed how odd he looked when he stared at me. His glasses that had once been taken care so neatly was now stained and the glass was broken in his left lens. His hair was grown and matted everywhere looking like he hadn't washed for a while and his stubble grew well past the five o'clock shadow stage.

His clothes were dirty and torn in various places and they reeked too. He wore a wool sweater and a scarf that was striped with a faded maroon and gold pattern (Hate me, Harry Potter fans, I dare you!). The jeans he wore were cut at one end and his shoes had holes in them, both covered in so much dirt that I don't know what color they were.

To my surprise, he sickened me more now than he did before. I scrunched up my nose in a disgusted way to show my disapproval of him being here. "We're about to go out, leave us alone."

"But I've searched!" He said in a crazed way. The smile he had and the look in his eyes were wild and I was scared. "I've waited and I just found you! Destiny, please, I need you back! Ever since you first ran away, I was fired for losing you! The company blamed me for it, and I haven't had a job ever since!"

"That's none of my concern. I'm under new management." I said in a mono-tone kind of way.

"Destiny, sweetie, please come back to me," He continued anyway and held his arms out to me as though asking for me to fall into them. I backed away slightly, but only to avoid him touching me. Murdoc did, too, with a very perplexed face. "These people can't treat you like I can. They don't know you like I do-"

"'Ey!" Murdoc screamed, but it was ignored. By now, the rest of the group had moved behind us because I could feel their body heat. It was very cold up on the Kong mountain.

"These people don't know you like I do, I mean, we're like family, Dest'!" He shortened my name like it was a normal thing we do, but I hated it. "No, Destiny, no- I'm sorry, what I meant is that we _are_ family. You, and me, and your brother- we were all one big family, weren't we?"

Anger flashed through me and I launched at him, ready to punch, but arms held me back. "**Don't you **_**ever**_** talk about my brother like that, you basterd!**" I said through clenched teeth. The rage that went through my veins were over-whelming.

Martoche looked at me with a teasing look that he used to give me when he thought I was trying to act like an adult. The look of insanity left his face and was replaced with dark satisfaction. "Oh, but these freaks do?"

"They are not freaks! This is my family now!" I resisted the urge to scream. The arms continued to hold me back. 2D said soothing words to me, but I didn't hear them.

"This isn't your family, these are kidnappers! They took you away from me, Destiny, and I want you back. We have a tour to start and we're a year delayed!"

"They didn't kidnap me, they _saved_ me from you!"

"Deaftiny, please."

"This is where I belong now and this is where _I'm staying_. Now piss off!"

"Sir, I think it's time for you to go now," Russel said to him politely. Martoche ignored him. "C'mon, Destiny, you know you're going to have to come back sooner or later-"

"_**NEVER!**_"

"-Isn't that what Derrick would want? After all, that was his _dying wish_."

No. No, no, no, no, no!

Everyone stopped when he said that. The arms loosened on my shoulders and I felt sick again. He couldn't talk about that. He just couldn't. Not here. Not now. This wasn't supposed to be how they find out. It wasn't the right time.

I had to make sure he wouldn't say anything. "You don't have the right to-"

"It was what he wanted wasn't it? I mean, he did tell you that after the accident, right?" He was pushing me because he knows this was true.

"**NO! **_Go away!_"I screamed this time, feeling tears form in my eyes.

"Destiny, what is he talking about?" Russel's voice asked and I looked up at Murdoc, but he didn't move, shocked that he would take it to that level.

"It's. nothing," I responded through a clenched jaw again and glared back at Martoche.

"Really? You mean you haven't told them?" Martoche asked with evil pleasure. This wasn't about him anymore. It was about me and how much dirt he could give out about me.

"There's nothing to tell them about!"

"What does he mean, Destiny?"

"I don't know what he's talking about!"

His voice remained annoyingly calm as he said, "I can't believe you'd forget to mention such a thing to them! I thought it was something that would forever _scar_ your memory!"

"Mention what?"

"Nothing! Go away!"

"I mean, you just looked so _traumatized_ during the whole accident-" He went on.

"What accident?" Russel asked, worried this time.

"Shut up! Enough!" I yelled at him more. I was ready to knock off his jaw.

"And nobody was expecting him to just-"

"No!"

"-die in the street like that either."

And then I snapped. I screeched something unnatural at the top of my lungs and balled my fists around my hat, pulling it tightly around my forehead. Martoche must've panicked and acted on reflex, because I felt him grab me, and pull me towards him. Then I was released- assuming Russel had shoved him off me- and long thin arms pulled me inside up to 2D's chest. Then Murdoc slammed and locked the door, locking it.

"Destiny, what is-"

"Lemmie go! Lemmie go! Derrick! I want Derrick right now! Lemmie go!" I screamed, breaking free from 2D and ran into the elevator.

"Destiny, no! Come back!" Russel's voice boomed, but I was already going up to the 2nd floor and before it was quick enough to go back to the lobby and get them I had locked myself in my room. Then I collapsed on my bed and held my hat on as tight as it went around my forehead, howling and screaming in sobs feeling empty and helpless.

I stayed there all evening until the sun went down. Alone and empty.

* * *

I somehow managed to move myself to the roof through the ladder and access panel that's in the glass dome of my room so I could see the cities below Kong all lit up. My eyes were puffy and probably red, but I don't have a mirror in my room to check, so I couldn't know if I wanted to. I stayed curled in a ball and rested my arms over my knees; the only movement was when my breath would visibly pass before my eyes and when the icy wind blew through my hair. My hat was still secure on my head, pulled lower than ever.

My room had been locked all evening, but Murdoc probably had another key and he probably used that to unlock it because eventually 2D lifted the glass door above his head and popped his upper torso out to the roof.

"Yeah, she's up tere," He mumbled below to my room and stepped onto the roof, holding the glass plate above his head to allow the rest of the group onto the roof. Russel got stuck- his stomach was bigger than the hole- for a while and I would normally laugh at him, but I was wasn't in the mood to laugh at it.

2D was the first to approach me and sit beside me, his jacket still pulled around him with the foe fur collar surrounding his purple hair, and he asked in a low voice, "Are you okay now?"

I shook my head. 2D looked down and then mimicked my posture.

Soon Noodle and Russel came to my side also and Noodle threw her arms around me. The atmosphere held a 'no touching' kind of feeling, but Noodle was too oblivious to realize so I let it go. Then she sat beside me and crossed her legs, staring over the city.

Murdoc was the last to stand beside us and he simply looked over the city like Noodle. He had a kind of sad guilt around his eyes, but that was the only sign of his sympathy for the rest of his body language was that of aloof boredom.

It was still for a long time. Stars began popping through misty clouds and there was no moon I noticed. Five icy breaths passed by me many times now.

Russel finally placed a warm hand on my back and I looked up to his meet his eyes with my own. "Do you want to talk about it? About…what he said…about…you know."

Everyone was uncomfortable, but knew what he was talking about. Murdoc seemed to have an easier posture, but I guess it's because he already knew about all this.

"It was back in 1996. A few months after I met 2-D," I started, trying to find a way to say all this…

* * *

Derrick and I were on another tour for him because he was the Child Prodigy. We had two tour buses; One for Derrick and Martoche and his care-takers and other musicians,

And one for all the lawyers, producers, and directors. Men in business suits basically. I was on that bus. Both were very decked out and luxurious, but I'd rather have been with my brother.

"Is that really Derrick's sister?"

"Shh! You'll wake her!" Two men were whispering. I was "napping", but I was really half-conscious. I was curled up on a coach, using my jacket as a pillow. It was a late night and I was too young to be awake. "But, yes, that is Derrick's twin."

"_Twin_?" The first man proclaimed in a loud hush. "She looks like she could be a year or two younger than him! Not to mention they look nothing alike!"

'I don't blame him for his confusion,' I thought to myself. True that Derrick and I were twins, him older than I, but we looked nothing alike. For some reason, puberty seemed to have hit him earlier than me, therefore he is much taller and has a mature face. His hair was also blonde, opposite to my dark waves, and his eyes were a very deep brown that made his eyes look black. Mine aren't.

But despite our looks, we were very close. When the fame didn't absorb all his attention, he's my playmate and the two of us are inseparable. We even sleep in a bed together and he teaches me all that he knows including school-related subjects. Because I wasn't important enough to have an education in our guardian's- Mr. Martoche- eyes, Derrick taught me all that he got from his education and passed it down to me. He was very intellectual, therefore he passed down skills that he knew about how to do certain things to me and I was equally intelligent. Of course, I was still very jealous of him because he is cared for more than I am and people talk about him more, even though we both like to think of us as equal. And even though he sometimes let the fame go to his head, I still love him.

We were always together…I guess that's why this trip was so hard for me. Derrick had a trombone tuning on the way to the next gala, so I was forced to spend this trip on the second bus. 'At least I can sleep easily,' I thought snuggling back up against my coat.

About a half-hour later, when I was staring out the window mindlessly, I felt a sudden tremor and the road ahead of us glowed reds and yellows. I rise from my seat and look outside the front window.

The bus ahead of us had a tire lit on fire. It was in the back wheel and was dangerously close to the gas tank. My worst fear came true then because the fire blew past the rear and that caught on fire, causing the tank to explode. The bus swerved in front of us and fell onto it's side, giving me the perfect view to watch the largest explosion as the whole bus blew up into pieces and our bus gave a sudden jolt, screeching to a stop.

One thing ran through my mind and I suddenly felt like I was punched in the gut.

"Let me off," I heard myself breathe. Louder I told the driver, "Let me off the bus now!"

"I can't let you off, it's a disaster out there! It's just the rul- Hey!" He screamed after me when I opened the door myself and jumped off the bus. In my large jacket I ran into the large wasteland of scattered parts and small fires looking for Derrick. I couldn't see much, though, because it was dark and my eyes haven't adjusted yet. But one thing that I did see amongst the small fires was the tire with a small gizmo attached to the side of it, under the brake mechanism. I cautiously approached it to get a closer observation of what started it.

It was a handmade bomb. It consisted of a match that probably lit when the rubber met the brake, scraps of wood from a broken violin that had "mysteriously gone missing", sheet music, and a can of hairspray. It was crafted together so well; Only Derrick could have built it.

* * *

I felt queasy and right on the spot, I threw up, but I left that part out when I told my band mates. Instead, I moved on to the next part.

Coughing came from a pile of rubble ten or so feet from me and I looked at it with cautious and teary eyes. Then I got up and ran to it, digging into the pile and moving all the rubble out of the way. Ambulance sirens started whaling in the background.

When I uncovered enough junk, I saw Derrick and he saw me, then smiled. He looked like he was right by the back of the bus when it happened because his face was bruised and burned and his nose looked broken. Cuts and gashes covered some of his body and his left eye was black and blue causing it to swell, too. "Hey, lil' sis," He said like he was perfectly fine, but his throat sounded closed up.

I had to fight against my voice to avoid it to break on every word, but through the sobs I managed, "Derrick, are you okay?"

He gave a weak scoff and laid his head back. I brushed some hair out of his face, and he smiled. "This is nothing. Really…it doesn't hurt…" He shifted and hissed in pain. The source was his right arm; from the elbow down, it was blown off and the fresh muscle was showing.

I almost got sick right then and there, but I forced it back down and breathed heavily, "Why, Derrick? Why did you…" I couldn't finish. I broke out crying again, wailing as loudly as possible.

He sighed and had a more serious look on his face. "I can't go on living like this, Dest'. I don't want to live like a performing monkey anymore…and you shouldn't either." "But why? Why did you do this to me?" I choked out and collapsed on his chest, crying.

His only hand touched the top of my head. I felt a little disturbed by it, but was crying too much to think about it. "No, Destiny, I did this _for_ you…maybe if I left the…the picture, then Mr. Martoche would send you back to live with Mom and Papa." He coughed violently then. He didn't have much time, I realized.

"No, Derrick, don't say that! Mr. Martoche will send _**us **_back to live with our parents because you're _going to make it_!" I told him and started to try to clean him with a handkerchief from my pocket. "I-I-I'll take care of you! And we'll get you help. You-You're going to make it, Derrick!" He placed his hand on his head, took off his blue and white beanie that he was wearing, and placed it on my head.

He smiled. "Take care, Destiny."

And he fell back and was limp. Dead.

"No. No. No." I kept repeating and tried to shake him. "Open your eyes, Derrick! Don't leave me! Please, wake up! Please!" He was silent and my chest started to tear open. Tears came streaming down my face. It was over. I screamed at the top of my high-pitched lungs, wailing loudly again.

Someone came behind me then and grabbed my small body. They didn't see my brother's body- or ignored him if they did- and instead lifted me up. I fought against him. "No! No! Put me down! Don't touch him, that's my brother!" I kept screaming at them. "I have to go back and take care of him! Don't you hear me? That's my brother out there!"

"We have to get you to safety." The man holding me said in a gruff voice. He was dressed like a fireman.

"I don't care! I want my brother! Take me back to Derrick!" I broke away once and tried to run back, but the fireman along with another person grabbed me and pulled me away. The road was lit with orange and reds and the asphalt glistened. It took me a few years to know that it was gasoline.

And it was flammable.

The scene around where Derrick was blew up in a white cloud suddenly. It was like a mushroom cloud and the explosion lit up my face in pale light.

"**NOOOOOOO!**"

* * *

"It's like he didn't care about me at all," I soon found myself sobbing and the tears were like ice going down my face. The temperature outside had dropped considerably low and I found myself crying just as loud as I had the night Derrick died. 2D took hold of me and cradled my body against him as he had done the night he told me he visited me in the hospital. "And when his eyes closed…I can't…" I choked and swallowed down the tears that were coming.

By now, only Murdoc was standing at the same distant he started at and glared over the city lights. The breeze caught his hair and tossed it around in the freezing air. "Look, love, I don't know why he would want to do that- because it seems like a pretty stupid thing of him to do-, but you have got to get over it!" I gasped at his words. "I mean, for Christ's sake! That happened over- what- four years ago? Five, maybe? I mean, really, just _let it goooooo._" And on that note, he left.

I sniffled back some more tears and looked at Russel with upset eyes. He brushed a few away and pushed my hair back. "Is this the hat your brother gave you?" I nodded. He nodded back and sighed. "I feel terribly sorry that that happened…but Murdoc's right, Destiny. That was a very long time ago and you can't grieve forever."

"But," I said and started hiccupping. "I-I can't understand…why he did it…he was so selfish and- And it's like, I killed him."

"No, that is _not_ true," Russel said in a stern voice.

"But he did it for me," I said shaking my head, not listening and about to break into sobs again.

"Listen to me, child; you did _not _kill your brother. It was a decision he made that you had no idea about. You couldn't control what he did that day, and you didn't control whether or not he was going to di-" I flinched before he said it, but he stopped himself. 2-D's hold tightened around me. "The point is, you can't just hold onto this forever. It's just not healthy. Just because his life ended, doesn't mean your's can't go on. I mean, come on, Derrick even said he wants you to be happy."

I shrugged, but was utterly convinced. Russel and Murdoc-surprisingly- were right. Besides, I had family now, so why mope around? I was content here anyway and didn't really think about my parents a lot anyway. I am who I am, so why bother? I felt relieved. Like the guilt was gone and that was the biggest weight on my shoulders. After feeling better about the incident, I felt relieved and agreed to going back down to my room to go to sleep. The three band mates promised not to tell anyone that Derrick had killed himself and that I could wear his hat as often as I liked. It was good to know they understand me and my way of holding onto him.

"Goodnight, Destiny. If you need anything, just ask me okay?" Russel said while he kissed my forehead. "I love you."

I nodded, uncomfortable with the saying. "Thanks, Russel. You too." Noodle came up to my bed then and squeezed me in a hug, causing me shortness of breath. "Noodle! _Noodle! _Can't breath! Sanso!" I said and she let me go. She muttered something in Japanese, kissed my cheek and ran out with Russel.

Then it was 2-D and I.

'Why are we always the last two left?' I wondered and turned over in my bed so I could face him. He was shivering, and looked at me, biting his lower lip with the canines that represented his front teeth.

"2-D, maybe you should go get warmed up…" I advised with worry.

"N-n-n-nah, I'll be awr-r-r-r-ight when we get t-t-t-t-to the skee-skee-skeeball," He said through chattering teeth.

"No, really, 2D. You should go to bed," I said in a flat voice. Typical 2D. "Honestly, it's not gonna happen."

2-D stared off a while, chattering away and finally agreed with me, "Yeah, you're righ'." Then he walked towards me and lifted the covers, getting in bed with me.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" I asked with a beat red face.

"Get-Get-Gettin' warm," He said and snuggled into the bed. He was a blanket hog.

"You can't here! Go to your own bed!"

"No, that's too far away. C'mere," He pulled me closer to him and spooned me. I got goose bumps; He really _was_ cold. "You're _really_ warm, Love."

"2-D, you can't sleep here. It's weird," I said, but being hugged by him made me happy deep down and I didn't know why.

"Why's it weird? We are best friends, after all."

I felt a little pang of hurt. "I guess…" I grumbled and turned around to face 2-D, dozing off as I went.

I felt 2D kiss my forehead and say, "I may not be your guardian, but I luv you too. You're a great friend, love."

I blushed again and mumbled sub-consciously, "Don't call me Love."

* * *

**Murdoc: *rubbing his temple* Will you shut that baby up? I've been drinking!**

**Me: *with a Baby Think It Over health project, feeding it a fake bottle* I can't help when it cries! It's automatic, you dullard!**

**Murdoc: Your face is a dullard!**

**Me: *smacks him unconcious* I'd love to know your guys opinions, so send me a message and/or review. I swear I'll read them =D**

**Fake Baby: *cries as loud as any baby has cried before***

**Me: =.= It's not like I have anything better to do...like sleeping...this is gonna be a LOOOOOOONG weekend...but the baby has inspired me XD**


	16. Chapter 16

**Me: *walks lazily to my computer late at night. Sleepily, I put down my chocolate milk-coffee-substitute and turn on my computer. As it loads up, Murdoc does too, sitting in the seat beside me***

**Murdoc: Wha-eh? Ey! It's you! You're updating aren't cha?**

**Me: =.= Suddup, Muds, I'm tired.**

**Murdoc: What? Where've you been? Why haven't yue updated?**

**Me: *staring at my computer waiting for fanfiction to load* Nowhere in particular. Killer week at school. Took the SATs. Just haven't had the enthusium to update.**

**Murdoc: ...Does that mean this chapter will be boring?**

**Me: *realizes the computer has loaded and Murdoc enters his drunken rage mode* Hello readers! I'm baaaack with chapter 6!**

**Murdoc: YOU LAZY SOD, ITS ABOUT TIME!**

**Me: *smacks Murdoc with a hammer* Not now! -.-* Anyway! I'm really happy with this chapter because I included my most dedicated fan, Sojaship in it! Yay, woo! (ps I take requests if you want to be in the story too. I could really use all the extra characters for a later point in the story ;) So send me a message if you want to be in it!) Her name is Ally. So keep an eye out for her and review what you think.**

**Murdoc: What? You can't do that! You're already ruining my band enough with your OC, now you're addin another!**

**Destiny: *loads beside the two of us, coming from nowhere* Murdoc! That isn't nice to say about me!**

**Me: O.o**

**Destiny: *sees me* O.o**

**Me: O.o**

**Murdoc: Oi, this is bullcrap. They're both frozen from meeting each other. *pushes me to the side in my wheelie chair, pulls up his own and starts typing the rest of the intro***

**RECAP (Murdoc style): So the runt, the sod, and I came back from Jamac-Jamc- that little island down east, and we were going out for some pizza and I was gonna pick up some extra cases of rum and vodka, but...but that bloke that the runt was talking about so much, _MR. MAR-TO-CHE_ came round and tried to steal 'er back. Well, I saved the day, obviously, I mean, I'm Murdoc Niccals, ja ja ja-**

**Me: *kicks Murdoc, and writes the rest of this***

**Okay, sorry. Destiny was enraged because her old manager told Gorillaz that her brother died before she did, (minus Murdoc) and locked herself on the roof. Then Murdoc used his spare keys and the rest came up to comfort her where she told them the way her brother died. They all comforted her (Murdoc less nicer than the rest) and she felt better. Then she fell asleep with 2D that night.**

**Sorry. This was long. ONWARDS!**Turns out, 2-D got a horrible catch of cold from being on the roof last night, and he was contagious. So now _I'm_ sick too. Russel says that it was karma acting against me for sleeping with a boy, but I really didn't care. Actually, him saying that made me want to punch him in the mouth. I mean, it's not like we did anything!

* * *

Besides, we're just friends…it still bothers me that that has such a toll on me.

We were confided to one room as to not get Noodle sick too, and since I have a bigger bed and space for Russel to walk in and out of, we both slept in my room. It was **SO** uncomfortable having to stay in the same bed as 2-D all day, but the constant video game playing, naps, singing show tunes, and cruel pranks played by Mr. Jerk Nicalls made it hard to notice. Although, just to be on the safe side, I made sure to block all feed the cameras had to my room with an excuse for the website that read 'Murdoc busted a water pipe that led to my bathroom- Room flooded. Be up and running again soon.' Murdoc didn't approve, but he wasn't mad at me either, so I assume I'm in the clear.

In my boredom, I had also sent 561 e-mails to Howie Weinberg concerning the album and he sent me back "_Okay, send it over_". It'll be done by June. I felt relief and then anxious to have it done (FINALLY) so that we could start shooting for our music video. I sent a message to Dan Nakumara and he sent the tracks to New York, and sure enough by June the album was mastered and shelf-ready. But of course, it wasn't _really_ put on the shelves because that would go against Murdoc's master plan. And since 2-D and I are sick, we can't produce a music video yet, either. So for a short moment, Gorillaz is paused in production. The lack of progress made me fidgety.

**June 2****nd**** 2000:** Gorillaz album mastered by Howie Weinberg at Masterdisk, New York.

Meanwhile, Murdoc and Russel were interviewing for a director for the video, but had no luck, except for one. A Mr. Paulo Skinbacio, age 78, was a psychotic man who basically came to feed off the fame of Gorillaz. He had heard that the Prodigy was in this band, knew it would make millions, and hoped to leech some money off for his retirement plan. Truth of the matter, he had never held a camera in his life. I had never actually met him, but from what Russel told me, he frequently walked the halls of Kong, spoke with an Italian accent but used German words, and threatened any person who came close to touching a roll of film he carried with him that he called "his baby". I knew right away this man was insane so I called up Damon Albarn for a little help. He recommended Jamie Hewlett, Tank Girl artist and utter cartoonist, and -figuring that he was perfect for the job and certainly better than this lunatic- I told him to get Jamie's arse down here _**ASAP**_. Damon said he'll give him a ring later.

* * *

Three days. That's how long it was that we were bed-ridden until Noodle, bless her Japanese soul, came through my porthole carrying a big bowl of steaming soup.

"Oh, Noodle!" 2-D called her name using a prominent 'ooo' sound. "Is that yummy soup for us?"

"Noodle, you know you shouldn't be up here," I told her and she came towards us anyway. She had the large bowl in one hand and two smaller ones in the other. She set them on my nightstand and poured two bowls for us. "Wait a minute…that isn't soup…ramen?" I asked, seeing that she had chopsticks with her instead of spoons. She smiled at me for figuring it out, spilling some on my rug in the process. "Aw man," I groaned.

"Gomen," She apologized bowing and handed us our bowls.

The ramen was an interesting color, however.

"Noodle," I asked with a flat tone and slight amusement. "Why are the noodles…blue?"

"Good for Destiny!" Noodle said and had a stern look on her face. She obviously wasn't going to leave until we ate it. "Good for 2-D! Eat food! Eat, eat, eat!"

I looked at 2-D and his eyes were lined with desperation. I couldn't do anything about our current situation, so I simply shrugged and rolled my eyes. 2-D wasn't convinced. I took out some of the blue substance and shoved it in my mouth, 2D watching me closely.

I choked. It was the second worse thing I ever ingested, following the concoction that Murdoc made once to drug the two ladies he brought into his Winnebago (luckily the ruffies weren't in the drinks yet) that I mistook for coco-cola. My face turned a shade lighter than the noodles and I swallowed the mouthful without chewing, shivering as the stringy substance crept down my throat.

"That…was…delightful…" I said, not sounding realistic at all. Noodle couldn't hear it in my tone and cheered as 2-D turned pale. Suddenly, I sneezed and snorted, not blowing my nose like Russel had repeatedly instructed, and I felt a wind go through my nostrils. "Hey! I can smell again!" I sniffed. "And the stuff smells even worse than it tastes!" I pinched my nose and hid under the covers.

2D doesn't know how to use chopsticks, so Noodle force fed him instead. He too got the same reaction and breathed through his nose, then pinched it and gulped down some more noodles that was forced into him. "I don' know, Love. It's really not so bad." He said between chews and swallowed again.

"Stop calling me Love. Seriously," I said stubbornly before I picked up the bowl and swallowed it all down in one foul swoop. Needless to say, we were both ten times better after that.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up realizing that 2D was awake and out of bed already. 'He must be better already…wait, that doesn't make any sense. Last night we were sick as a dog, and ate food, but there's no such thing as a special remedy like that,' I thought and decided to ask Russel why this was so. It was 9 AM, and I slept in a matching set that was a blue t-shirt with a plaid breast pocket and shorts, but the shirt was large on me (unlike the shorts that hugged my waist comfortably. It's weird how I'm only ten and I'm already a pretty developed girl with more curves than a runway model. I blame all the milk Russel makes me drink.). My hair was a matted mess and my eyes were still fuzzy from just waking up. I went downstairs anyway.

Walking out of the elevator, I found everyone gathered in the kitchen. Noodle was sitting at the table with a bowl of cereal with 2-D who was playing a handheld video game. Murdoc was leaning on the railing outside with a cigarette (I almost never go out there because of how bad the smoke smell is) and Russel was making flapjacks. Everyone was already dressed, except for me.

"Good morning, Deaftiny!"

"Ohayo!"

Russel was the last to see me walk in, but his face shone the brightest when he did. "Oh, Destiny! You look so cute in those pajamas I could just eat you for breakfast!" He said with an adoring smile on his face that would easily be there if I wore a princess outfit. "I'm not sure if I should take you literally or not, so I'm gonna sit over here now," I said in a non-sarcastic tone and sat on the other side of 2-D which was the furthest away from Russel.

He didn't look too offended and asked, "How're you feeling this morning, hun? After all, 2D seems to be his normal self again." He looked over at the singer and he was indeed back to his usual videogame playing and hopelessly losing. He was still pale, but 2-D's always pale.

"I'm fine…which is something I wanted to ask you about. Why am I okay?"

"What do you mean?" Russel asked me, laying a plate with a dozen flapjacks on it in front of me and sitting on the other side of me.

"Thank you," I said before covering the pile in syrup and continued, "Every time I was sick before, it took a little longer for me to get better. Why am I okay in just like, a few days?"

Russel was taken aback a little and had to think about it before answering. "Well," he started and rubbed his bald head. "Maybe, Destiny, it's because you were a human then."

"Am I not human now? Am I an alien!"

"No, Destiny," He said bluntly, smacking his forehead with his palm. "I mean, now since you're a cartoon, you might have a cartoon immune system too. You know, different from your human self, because your made up differently…"

"…Wait what?"

"Well, cartoons heal faster. That's how many characters are sick in one episode and are better after the five minute break. It varies for character to character though." Russel explained and I suddenly felt lost. "Well, you've watched Nickelode-"

"No." I said, not mentioning the-name-that-cannot-named and how this unnamed man never let me watch TV.

"Oh…well, just so long as you understand that it's a cartoon thing." Russel said and started to steal bites from my plate. I was okay with this because I was pretty full after eating five anyway.

"So, does that also explain the reason why I haven't been…you know…_upset_ like the doctor said I would be?"

Russel looked at me quizzically and was about to ask what I meant. However, Murdoc stumbled in from the porch with an empty beer bottle in hand and looked at me dead in the eye.

"'Ey! You!" He yelled at me.

"Me?"

"Yeh, yue! Cake or dahge…?" I could tell by his speech that he wasn't drunk (yet), but using a really heavy British accent.

I paused. "Excuse me?"

"Yue heard meh! Cake or dea-th?" He asked me again and I thought about what he was saying.

"Cake or death…?" I repeated.

"Yeh, which one?" Murdoc asked with a smirk.

"Uuuh, cake please," I said.

"Alrigh' then!" Murdoc said stiffly and looked at Russel. "Give this girl some cake then!" He ordered and left the room laughing under his breath.

I looked at Russel with a questioning look, but he didn't answer. Instead, he shook his head with a pathetic look and took out ingredients for a cake.

For once, I was pretty happy Murdoc was in a random, demanding mood, "I'm gonna go check on Murdoc and see if he's okay," I said to Russel and jumped from my seat to leave the kitchen. What I should've said was "I'm gonna go check on Murdoc and thank him for the cake that Russel's making", because that's what I was going to really do.

"Yue! Man on our dour step! Cake or Death?" Murdoc's voice echoed from the lobby and I followed him there.

'Hm…the last time a man was on our doorstep…!' I ran over to the front door and found Murdoc pointing at the man there until he gave his answer.

"Death please…no! Cake! I meant cake!" The man standing there said with a defensive hand and a knowing look. He looked like Jamie, only he had red hair, and an insane look to his eye like he was going to go into a random frenzy at any minute. He was human, and wore a leather jacket and a red and white striped shirt under it and jeans that hugged his ankles.

Behind him was a girl, too. She was very weird looking and it kind of made me gawk. She contrasted to what Jamie was wearing for her outfit was very bright. A neon pink t-shirt with the words 'Pornographic Rat' on it, and it had a girl bent over so that you could see her rear. It was tucked into a pair of black jeans that were extremely baggy on her and there was a shrunken head like those that I've seen in Jamaica hanging off of a rainbow belt. The belt complimented her rainbow socks that disappeared into two converse that I've seen 2D wear, but they were tied very high over her ankles.

But her outfit wasn't what made me drop my jaw. It was her multiple piercings. There were two in her left eyebrow, a bar going across the top of her right ear, and five studs lining up under the rim of each ear. And she had two in her bottom lip and a bullring going through her nose. Her hair was silver and looked about as messy as 2D's, and it ended at her shoulders.

I had to blink a few times and mentally smack myself to keep from staring at her.

"Hello. Um, can I help you?" I asked, feeling awkward that I was still dressed in my pajamas and even more for having to avert my eyes from the girl.

"Don't talk to him! He chose death, he's going to die!"

"Murdoc, shush! We're not gonna kill anyone and Russel's already making a cake anyway!"

"Oh, well in that case, my job here is finished," Murdoc said with a pleased look and started walking towards the garage.

I turned back to the man at the step, "I'm sorry. Anyway, how may I help you?" "My name is Jamie Hewlett. This is my assistant, Damon told me to come over here; something about the his project's music video-"

Murdoc rushed back to the door, knocking me out of the way, "**You're here to wot!**"

"Murdoc! You just knocked me over!" I yelled and shoved him onto the floor for revenge. Then we got into a huge tussle and were a mere cloud of limbs and white smoke to any bystander's eye as we rolled further down the halls, leaving Jamie at the doorstep.

* * *

Luckily, Russel found him there and broke up our fight later, and we all sat down to talk to the newcomer. Upon further interview, we also learned that Jamie was a member of Passion Pictures, which is some kind production company for films and stuff, and that he could have a whole team of cartoonists to work on our videos and stuff if we hired him as our video director. We all said yes, but Murdoc says he's still very mistrustful of the newest Gorillaz collaborator.

"Why, Murdoc? He's almost perfect to be our director, what could you ever _possibly_ be doubting about him?" Russel criticized. Under Jamie's breath, I heard him say '_almost _perfect?' with a silly look and that made me smile. This was obviously a very easy-going man.

"Because! I'll _personally _bring back that_ Skinbacio _character if I have to if this guy makes us look bad! I don't care how many cartoonists he has!" Murdoc screamed and pounded a fist on the coffee table that separated the band from the two newcomers. The strange girl picked up her coffee- that Russel had set for the two newcomers- in fear that it might spill over.

While Russel was lecturing Murdoc to tone it down, I stared at her as she gulped down the brown liquid. The two bulbs above her chin swished with her lip and I felt my gum sting in the thought that the other side might be stabbing her.

"Doesn't that hurt…?" I suddenly heard myself ask, pointing at her bottom lip, and froze when she sent me an evil-looking glare. Her eyes were ringed with lost sleep and violet in color.

"It did when the guy had the gun shoved up against my skin and the needle made it bleed. _That_ felt like he had a sledgehammer pounding down on my face against a chisel. That answer your question?" She snapped back. I felt like I was going to cry and gripped 2D's shirt. He put an arm around me comfortingly.

"Ally! Wot did I tell you about talking to customers like that?" Jamie said and she suddenly looked guilty. Then he told the girl named Ally to get them a refill before they start work and she jingle-jangled away with the two empty cups. All the noise made me notice that her cargo pants were lined with chains. "I'm terribly sorry for that," Jamie apologized after she was out of hearing distance. "She's basically new, and had trouble sleeping for a while."

"Then why'd you drag 'er along?" Murdoc almost spat with crossed arms. I started analyzing how the two negative dispositions weren't mixing. Murdoc was getting a taste of his own medicine.

"Well, she's my intern- for now at least. She's a wicked artist! And she plays a mean sax on the Casual Fridays down at the office, she's just, er…Just a bit rough around the edges…eeeehhhhhh, honestly I basically send her on errands to get 'er off my back, but she's a good kid…" The look on Jamie's face made it hard to be convinced.

He shook his head and it was silent as we waited for Ally to jingle-jangle back with two new steaming cups, and Jamie clapped and rubbed his hands together. "So! Why don't we get started, eh?" Ally nodded, even though the question wasn't directed to her, and took out Jamie's briefcase that he was carrying. When she undid all the knobs, it revealed the rainbow of pens, paper, markers, colored pencils, and the occasional collection of pink erasers.

He took out a pad of paper and a brush pen, uncapping it. "Awrigh' then! Who's first?" I realized then that I was alone on the couch. Clouds of white outlined where my band mates had once been. Jamie and Ally fixed their eyes at me. "You then?" Ally had her own pad of paper and reached down to the shrunken head on her belt. With a click of the nose, the head popped open and she pulled out a brush identical to Jamie's. She smirked evilly at me and I was reminded of Murdoc's.

I sighed both in exasperation and fear. It was gonna be a looooong day.

* * *

(Luckily I changed out of my pjs before all this)

"See how she linked her thumb on her jean loop?" Jamie was mumbling to Ally as I stood in the pose that Murdoc had me stand in on that first photo shoot so long ago. "Her thumb is tiny, see? Remember that when you're drawing the proportion."

Uncomfortable with the comment, I shoved my hand in my pocket instead. Jamie told me to undo that, and I reluctantly re-hooked my thumb. It was a quiet, awkward silence as both Jamie and Ally started working, glancing from me to their pads and I still as a statue. Being a model was so very uncomfortable. I understand now why everyone took off.

Suddenly Jamie broke the silence. "So, how long have you been doing this for? This whole, er, band thing I mean."

I had to count it out myself. "Two years…?" I said and Ally commanded to smirk like I had before. I felt more like crawling up in a ball.

"Oh? What have you been doing since?" Jamie asked me and I had to pause to think again. His constant shifting gaze made it hard to read his expression. I didn't understand why he was asking me all this.

'Maybe just to make conversation?' I thought and continued with my reply, "Well, I had my first birthday party, moved into the building, went on vacation, and basically just got to know about a lot of music, I guess…"

"Really?" Jamie asked without much care and went into his briefcase for another pen, sticking the first one in his mouth. Ally copied this procedure. "What kind of music have you been, er…listening to?"

And the questions and conversation bounced back and forth like so. If I moved the slightest inch away from where I originally was, Ally scolded me to move back. It was an awkward way of posing for my cartoon portrait, but soon enough it was done. Both of them were.

"And a touch there, her shirt is green, and…there! Do you want to look?" Jamie asked me and turned the pad around for me.

I bent over to see and a spitting image of myself looked back, only I looked like one of the Gorillaz cartoons instead of a human like him. "That's really amazing! I look like one of them!"

"Yes, you're welcome. Now be a dear and go get someone else, will you?" Jamie asked me and I retrieved Noodle from her room. She was very reluctant to discard her gorilla toy, but came down after deciding to bring it to also be drawn. I sat around to watch the two work and Noodle cramped many times. Then, Russel came down, then 2-D and finally Murdoc. We were all drawn and ready for Jamie to start working on the 'Tomorrow Comes Today' video, and after all the packing up was done and Murdoc and Russel were shaking Jamie's hand at the door, Ally showed Noodle and I the pictures of us she drew when we were all gathered around the couch.

Noodle pointed at her drawing, angrily yelling something in Japanese. "Shirt too bright! Shirt brown! No green!" And she was right, because her outfit was drawn in a neon green pattern instead of the tan one she wore.

"Yeah, well how am I supposed to know- I'm colorblind!" Ally yelled in her face and Noodle was suddenly across the room, clinging to Russel's leg.

I- on the other hand- was shocked. "You mean…you can't see color? Like reds and stuff?"

"No, I can't. Got a problem with that?" Ally hissed and threw me a glare. Then she got up to leave with Jamie and they disappeared into the night. I was left very confused and ponderous; If she can't see color, how is it she chooses the most outrageous colors?

I didn't give it another thought as I stood, stretching my limbs. Glancing at the LED sign in the lobby, it read 7:07 pm. "Hey, Russel-

"Dad."

"Whateves. Where's 2-D?" I ignored and said to the point.

"I think he went back to his room. I don't know. I haven't seen 'im for a while now," Russel said and left the room. Noodle followed and Murdoc retired to his Winnebago a long time ago. I started towards the car park.

* * *

It was deserted and empty as always and, as though it was haunted, had a ghostly chill to the room. I was walking across to the door that led to 2D's steps, noticing a leaky spot in the roof on the way that needed to be patched up, when I suddenly heard the garage door open. Slowly it started and I jumped and hid behind an abandoned salvation truck.

'I feel like a ninja!' I thought and spied further. Before the door opened all the way, I saw Ally! She was back! She looked around suspiciously as she walked towards the Winnebago and knocked on it heavily. I guessed what was coming before it even happened. 'A girl coming to Murdoc's sex lair after-hours? What ever could she be there for?' I thought sarcastically and mumbled something unintelligible.

After a mere seconds, the door flew open to the rickety old van and Murdoc leaned was leaning in the doorway. I couldn't tell his face, but his green chest was exposed. I felt like I could barf.

Then, Ally threw herself at him and they started an enormous make-out session, Murdoc closing the door in the process. I knew I had seconds.

"SHIT!" I cursed under my breath in a loud hush and dashed towards 2-D's room. I was so close and when I was, I knocked furiously, not worrying if the two in the van could hear me. I kept knocking while I glanced back and forth at the van and the closed door. There were no signs of 2-D running up the stairs or the usual crash of him tripping as he does so often when he tries to get up in a rush.

Then I heard it.

Slow at first,

But picking up speed as time went on.

That sound. It _**BURNS**_ my ears.

The sound of metal rocking and bed springs.

"SHIT SHIT _S-H-I-TTTTT_!" I cursed loudly, covering my ears to dull the sound, but to no effort. It still rung clear as a bell through one side of my head and out the other. I felt my teeth grinding against each other. "I CAN'T STAND THIS!" I said almost screaming, yet I couldn't hear myself speak.

While covering my ears still, I expertly used my foot to turn the handle down and push the door in. Then I stepped inside and kicked it close. I quickly stepped my way down into 2D's room and found the second door open and the light of a glowing screen. I slowed my pace. Usually 2D never left his door open.

I quietly walked in and discovered the light was coming from one of the large flat screens. Pong was on computer vs. computer and the ball bounced back and forth, making no sound. The corner displayed the speakers were mute.

There was a lump in the orange covers and I figured it was my friend. I walked over to the bed and whispered, "2D?" while touching his shoulder.

He flinched violently and a groan escaped the back of his throat. He turned onto his other side. "Wot do you want- Sod off," He said in another groan and waved a hand at my direction.

I knew he usually said this to people when he was in a bad mood. I pulled his yellow chair up to his side and folded my hands in my lap. "It's me, 2D. Deaftiny," I whispered.

He turned over again to face me and pulled the cover so it only covered his nose, down. In the dim light I saw his eyes ringed with purple. 2D was having a migraine. And by the look of the empty pill bottles tossed over on his side table, it was a bad one. "Ello, Deaftiny. I didn't know it wos you." He said in a whisper again and judging by the way the corners of his eyes were creased, he was forcing a smile at me. "I'm sorry. You know how I get when I'm hurtin'. It's just, this is Murdoc's sixth gurl tonight-"

SIXTH?

"-and all the rockin' he's causin' got me a-" He didn't finish, instead he turned flipped on his stomach and gripped his hair until it spiked up more between his fingers.

I picked up the remote and shut off the TV, moving the room to total darkness with the exception of the light of the car park which glowed like a nightlight from the doorway. Then I rubbed 2D's back in- what he calls- my expert massage and he groaned again, but in pleasure. And that made me happy. I whispered, "I really hope you feel better. If there was anything I could do to make you feel better…I would do-"

"Well, there is sumthing," 2D said and he shuffled so that his right hand stuck out to my direction. It was open like he wanted me to put mine there. "Would you?"

I blushed at the small move, but agreed all the same. So I sat there in the dark and held 2D's hand, resting my chin in the other. After what seemed like a very long time, 2-D's grip loosened on mine and he snored lightly. He fell asleep. I looked at the clock on his nightstand and it read 9:34. I tried to get up so I may leave to bed, but his grip flexed around my hand as though he was sub-consciously begging me to stay. I collapsed back into the chair and resumed my tired and sore position, listening to 2D as his steady breathing drifted in and out of his apparently stuffed nose. It made a whistling noise that would normally annoy me if it wasn't 2D's. It was a peaceful sound that I soon found myself following in the same pattern of breathing.

Ally left. Murdoc was quiet. The clock read 11: 28. I was as tired as any one person could be. But I was content. I had helped 2D and I got to hold his hand. The band was happy and satisfied with each other and the day's progress towards the better future. Murdoc said we would start the video shooting portion of the film soon. The album was well on it's way towards being completed and I made a new friend today. I was the happiest girl on earth.

* * *

**Me: ****Yay, more 2D fluff! Okay, since there was a long intro, I'm gonna end this short. So revie-**

**Destiny: *poking my cheek* Are you my mom?**

**Me: -.- Stop doing that. The hell do you mean?**

**Destiny: Well, you created me, so does that make you my mom?**

**Me: I don't think it works that way.**

**Murdoc: No, she's right. Cause when a lad and a bird love each other very much, or if you're like your Uncle Murdoc and want some _raging_-**

**Me and Destiny: *kicks Murdoc across the face. He fazes back into the computer* Sorry. See ya next time!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Me: I'm sorry it took so long again-**

**2D: Oh! You're back!**

**Me: =I**

**Murdoc: Oi, numbskull. Look you're makin her frozen again.**

**Destiny: No, I did that first, remember?**

**Me: -.-? Everyone's gonna start piling in my room now, huh?**

**Russel: Pretty much.**

**Me: -.-"""" Anyway... *as they all gather behind my desk to see the adventure unfold* PERSONAL SPACE, PEOPLE!**

**RECAP: Destiny and 2D were sick for a while, but Noodle used her odd Japanese remodies to fix that.**

**2D: Man! Tat stuff tasted HORRIBLE!**

**Murdoc: *smacks his head to unconciousness* You can't inturrupt a RECAP like that! It's the law!**

**RECAP: Then, there was a typical morning scene until Murdoc went all Eddie Izzard on them and Jamie Hewlett who came to draw the group for their upcoming music video. The album was finally finished too. So now it's ready for release. When Destiny went to get 2D so he could be drawn next, she found him with a migraine caused by Murdoc and Ally, Jamie's assistant and OC,'s bed-rocking *shiver* So she stayed with him and held his hand to make her feel better. Yay!**

* * *

I fell asleep there that night and I felt strange. It appeared as though every night I was sleeping with or beside 2D. So I started to go to bed later so that 2D would be asleep by the time that I could go to bed and he wouldn't look for me to cuddle with or something. But after a while, it began taking it's toll on me. For example…

It was the end of October. A car horn sounds, but it was distant and prohibited me from sleeping. I found a cold puddle of drool on my pillow and on my pajama shirt. Disgusted, I grabbed a clean long sleeve shirt from my dresser drawer as I went towards the ladder to the roof and pushed open the glass lid.

I pulled it on, but not in time for the cold to bite my torso. The city below Kong was surrounded by red, orange, and yellow trees. I looked over the edge of the flat roof and saw the van that was still honking, parked by the front door.

Murdoc was at the wheel. "C'mon, ya runt! We got a video to shoot today! We're burnin' daylight and it's already noon for Christ's sake!" He pushed the horn again so it was one long flat tone with his palm. The rest of the band was gathered around the van, dressed in autumn attire, and waved at me.

I gave a lazy hello back. "Okay, I'll be down in a minute," I called back down and Murdoc hit the horn twice. I guessed that meant to hurry up. I went back down to my room and exchanged my pajama pants for some black jeans, kept the long-sleeved shirt, and threw a red and black plaid hoodie over it and switched my hat for a red headband. With my laptop in it's shoulder-strap carrying case, I dropped the rope ladder and climbed out of my room. I quickly stopped by the café to grab a grilled sandwich from the odd-looking cat there and took the elevator down to the van. Then, I locked the front door and climbed into the van with everyone else.

Murdoc swung an arm over his seat and looked me up and down, "Didja bring your guitar?" He asked with a glare.

I climbed out of the van and went back to my room, undoing and doing over the whole process again.

* * *

It wasn't anything really special like I thought it would be. I thought that when we arrived there, a huge team of camera people would be there and have on mics with little earbuds to talk to one another, a camera on a huge crane, and other hooza-ma-what-zits, but it was sadly all replaced with just Jamie, Damon, and their assistant for the day- hooray- Ally…that was sarcastic by the way. It was chilly and we had to huddle together in order to stay warm and that made me embarrassed because that meant huddling with 2D. His protective arms surrounded my whole, tiny body and he when I shivered he would say "I'm always here to protect you, Deaftiny," which made me deep red and confused him because he thought I still had a fever from when we were sick.

Murdoc did all of his shots early so that he could go drink at all the local bars. Once Russel finished, he joined him, surprising to me since Russel never drank alcohol. We filmed and photo-ed lots of scenes of the band just hanging around London both in the day and night and Jamie said he was going to use this footage to create the music video. We just had to watch it within the week. But before then, we had more spectacular events that un-expectantly came about. What do I mean? Well…

**December 27th**** 2000: The 'Tomorrow Comes Today' EP is released**

**

* * *

**A week into the December month, it was cold and everyone was now dressing in heavy layers (except for Murdoc who never changed his grey shirt and jeans, and Noodle who, as of lately, refused to remove a blue jacket and purple skirt combo she ordered from some fashion magazine).

Today I was in a dark green cashmere sweater with a large white stripe going through the chest and jeans with water stains on them from when I patched up the roof in the carpark. I walked through Kong's hallways with Noodle and Russel and we were talking about nonsense.

"School break?" I asked as we stared out of the large window in the theater hallway. Children, who were usually in school at this hour, were outside playing in the snow in the town below us. However, the snow stopped almost instantly when it reached the surroundings of Kong almost as though the snowflakes were saying 'I don't wanna go in there, it's spooky!'. It made me almost sad.

"Yeah, Dest'," Russel explained to me, looking outside as well. "That's what happens when it comes to be around this time of the year. The kids stay home and play all day. Then go inside and drink something warm and start fires with the rest of their family.

It's a tradition, that's all."

My hands left fingerprints on the glass and my breath fogged up my sight. Almost symbolic of how my chances to do that was far out of my sight and reach. "I'm glad I don't have school and all, but I wish we could have a fireplace and play in the snow and all that. But no. Kong Studios is surrounded by garbage, dead people, and snow is scared to land at our doorstep. I bet Santa Claus won't visit me again, too."

Russel looked at me, "Santa won't visit again?"

I looked up at him and told my sad tale. "Well, every year He-who-shall-not-be-mentioned told Derrick and I that if we were good children and listened to him, he would tell Santa and we would get presents. But we always did something that convinced him to not tell Santa and he never visited us. Either we left an instrument on stage, or got sick, and that was naughty." I sighed and looked up at Russel with hopeful eyes. "Hey, can we get dressed and go play in the snow in the park?"

"Maybe later, sweetie, we first have to finish helping Noodle," Russel said and we continued walking around. Noodle had lost her arrow to her bow and arrow set and was sniffing it out. Literally. Her nose was to the ground and she crawled on her hands and knees. Russel and I followed along, hands in pockets, and were "helping her".

Finally Noodle lifted her head and started to sprint out of the hallway, trumpeting to a battle tune that only she knew. We tried our best to follow her, but Noodle ran out of sight. Russel and I stopped following her into the lobby for we both had run out of breath.

"Man, I need to sit down a bit," Russel said in an almost elderly way and sat on one of the lobby sofas. I was going to sit beside him, until I saw Murdoc chatting to someone at the door. "Would you go see what that's about?" Russel asked me, though I didn't need the permission. I was curious anyway.

'Man, why are so many people coming to Kong? Doesn't the lack of snow scare people off?' I thought, really wanting to have a month to ourselves again like it used to be before all the sudden visits. I once again poked my head under Murdoc's arm and he squished me in a chokehold. "ACK!" I said, though I don't know why, and started to produce sounds someone who had something lodged in his throat would make. I couldn't breathe.

"Oh, and this is Destiny Hobbs!" Murdoc went on talking to the man like he wasn't doing anything dangerous or could get him hurt very badly later. "I'm sure you recognize her- she's our front girl you know. Would you like to say anything?"

"ACK!" I choked, trying to shove him off me.

"What? No? Oh well. Come on inside! Take a look around my studio, yeh?" Murdoc stepped to the side for the new man to come in and as he stepped inside he looked around vigorously and jotted down notes. While he was distracted, I escaped from under Murdoc's arm.

"Murdoc! What the heck was that about? I nearly choked!" I coughed while saying. Murdoc snickered in his sadistic way while I regained composure. Luckily, this guy was examining our lobby and ignored us. I took this opportunity to whisper to Murdoc, "Who is this guy anyway?"

"You don't know? I called him up to interview us. I sent this man a preview of our album a while ago, and he's here to interview us-"

"INTERVIEW?"

"-But don't worry, girlie, it's all part of the plan," Murdoc finished with a wink and walked towards the man until I noticed Russel coming up from the couch. This would have been okay, normally, granted Russel didn't have a face that looked like he was ready to bash in Murdoc's face.

"Murdoc, what the hell do you think you're doing; choking my baby girl like that?" Russel threatened, cracking his knuckles.

"What? Relaaaaax, we were only playing around."

"Playing around? She was _choking_ there, Muds!"

Murdoc plugged his ears, "La, la, la, la- I can't _heeaaar yooooou_- La, la, la, la, laaaa."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the man start writing notes down in his notebook, watching the three of us. 'This is baaaad,' I thought as Noodle came in the room coming from the hallway she exited prior to all this.

"FOUND IT!" She screamed, holding up her gorilla toy, and put it on the ground. Noodle took out the control and it started zooming across the floor, tripping everyone and bashing into walls leaving cracks and Noodle followed it without a care in the world.

The man took more notes.

Then, 2D came out of the elevator, holding a sandwich in one hand and his head in the other like he does when he has a migraine. I felt my heart sink to my stomach as he held the wall for the support, walking out so slowly that the elevator doors almost closed on him. "Guys, can you all shut up a sec, I have tis headache and-" He couldn't finish as the toy tripped him and he fell to the ground, on his back, limbs falling soon after. He stayed there as Noodle wheeled the toy around his body, the whirring worsening poor 2-D's migraine.

The man took more notes.

"Alright, everyone! That's enough drabble for now!" Murdoc clapped his hands for all of our attention. We escorted the man around Kong Studios and somehow Noodle was lost in the chaos. Luckily, nothing too bad was happening yet and we were soon sat on the couches in the lobby once again. I was shaking and sweaty-palmed and nervous for all the destruction that was about to come. Our interviewer, Roger Morton, took out this fat typewriter and started a rampage as we all shifted in our seats. At least I was.

"So," The man cleared his throat, dressed in a smart jacket and white button-up with jeans. "First of all-"

He didn't finish for 2-D had nodded off and fell asleep in the sandwich he brought down. It was a very quiet action- one that could have gone unnoticed had you not seen him do it- but the air above his head was scrawled with graffiti with one word that formed and then vanished

'**SPLAAAAAAAAAT!**' The word read. 2D fell asleep soon and was completely oblivious to the fact that Murdoc was now sticking a lit cigarette in his ear.

May the horror begin.

"Murdoc-" I tried to start.

Russel went on before me, frowning at Murdoc, "If 2-D chokes on his sandwich, you're going to jail Murdoc." Roger Morton types on. "Death by a saaaandwich, man!" Murdoc played off like it was no big deal. "Fook off! He attacked me sandwich. That is a Swedish Death Metal Special and his dumb-assed face is trespassing in it." "It was his sandwich in the first-"

"No! It was _my fuckin_ _sandwich_! Now not another word from ya, either or you don't get to be in the band!" Murdoc threatened me, jabbing a finger at me. I knew he wasn't serious and drunk, however,that was that. All to do now was wait for it to be over.

Russel folded his arms, "Remove him from the snack, Murdoc!" he ordered. Murdoc glared at him a little with a smug look, "That is a Sandwich of Odin. Black 'n 'pickle!" Then, he muttered satanic mantras under his breath, "Each pig that went into tha booty was individually tattooed with a satanic emblem by Ozzy's tattooist. War Pigs in the area! Witches gather at black maaaasses! Bodies burring in red aaaaaashes!"Then Murdoc started singing and air-guitaring. Oh, the simple-minded.

Russel glared. 2-D's face is turning blue and I would want to do nothing more than rush to his aid. This was all starting to spiral downward. Roger Morton would write a bad review of Gorillaz and all the recording, traveling around the world, staying in Kong Studios, _everything_ would have been all to waste. The publicity is really the ones who will judge us and have the opinion of whether or not to buy the album, however they won't buy it if the name is be-smudged to begin with.

So this was our big chance. And everything was spiraling downward.

I prayed for something to happen so that all the horseplay could be over and we could get down to serious business before anything really bad happens.

It was answered by Noodle's toy gorilla from the corner of the room as it head somersaults into Murdoc's behind, butting him across the room. Murdoc flew face-first into the sandwich and slid in front of 2-D, causing the lit cigarette from before to drop from his ear into Murdoc's pants. Noodle stood in the hall with the remote controller. "Noodle you friggin' Wasabi bitch, I'm on fire!" Murdoc yelled, running to douse his pants in the goldfish tank on the desk by sticking his butt in there. A grayish looking cloud rose from the water as Murdoc sighed in relief.

Noodle shrugged at Murdoc and opened her Mao jacket to reveal a t-shirt. The slogan on it read 'NO PAIN: NO PUBLICITY'. "Gorillaz!" Noodle yelled with her arms in the air, controller in hand. "Atashitachi wa chikyu o osaeru zo! [We're on a non-stop mission to take over the world!]"

Roger Morton was typing all this down as he stared at Noodle and I took advantage of this moment by scooting over to 2D's side and rubbing the excess condiments from his face. "2-D, are you okay?" I asked desperately. "Hey guys," muttered the now semi-comatose 2-D. "What time are we on stage?" I shook my head at him. At least he was breathing and okay as far as 2-D okay-ness goes. So after re-collecting everyone, we sat down and explained our history; How Murdoc first found 2-D, how 2-D was in a coma, Russel working at the Soho record store, Noodle coming from FedEx, etc.

When it was my turn to tell my story, I looked at Murdoc as though asking permission to speak. He gave me a warning glance. "Well," I started confidently. "I was about to start the next 'Prodigy: World Tour' series, and was in my room at the Queen's place taking a breather before the show. Then Murdoc came and he told me I was under a new contract, which I was for my previous manager had signed me to him. Murdoc canceled the tour, and instead I was taken to Kong Studios to start up on the album." Of course, it was a lie. Had everyone known the truth- Murdoc kidnapped me in a sack the same way he did Russel-, we'd be in lots of child service-related trouble.

Murdoc nodded in approval. Roger Morton bought it.

When I finished, 2-D suddenly woke up in a half awake-like trance. "Fing is right, I'm up for it. Rock 'n roll is like space, right? It's infinite, innit, so you can like, be whatever. And I am whatever. Whatever is my father and my muvver. And my nan. You just gotta let it out. Forever, and whatever, amen." He finished with his head bowed, and a fist in the air.

I stared at him with an eyebrow cocked. "Er, what?"

"Yeah thanks, pal," Murdoc waved it off. "Want some diazepam to help you think more clearly? Mind like an unfurnished black hole on that kid. You're not going to write any of that dribble down are you mate? Owzabout we listen to our album now." So we did. Murdoc started up the whole album and we sat around (for us _yet again_) and listened to it, but not until after Murdoc forced us to listen to Sabbath's "Paranoid" three times for a half hour to get a "vibe" going. And after that, an entire Decide album while Murdoc made the devil sign, shouting "tune!" and drinking from more alcohol.

"Alright my friend," Russel sighed while easing from the couch in the lobby. Since I was using him for a backrest, I fell back and landed in a pillow that 2D had been hugging in his lap. "I am not feeling these compositions." He said as he stomped to the decks, and removed the needle from the record, causing a huge scratch to go into it, similar to the one I made in his Winnebago. Russel's face became sheepish, "Oh I'm sorry Murdoc. Guess that's slightly unplayable now." "Oi! MC Grandmaster Twat!" Murdoc jumped up and examined the record that he snatched from Russel's hand. "Scratch one more of my tunes and I'll hex the entire Nation Of Islam!" "Yeah Murdoc, I'm really scared for my peeps," Russel rolled his eyes. "You were the one who spent a week listening for satanic messages in the Gary Crowley Show till I pointed out it was Aleister Crowley. Shall we listen to some shit that's tight, as the nigga demographic says back home?"

I don't get any word he just said. Roger Morton typed on as I looked up at 2-D who was snoring away. Which was good. Sleep usually helped with 2D's migraines. I just felt very badly for staring at him and feeling a blush creep across my face.

After the 'Gorillaz' album had finished playing, we all shifted in our seats. Here comes the actual interview part (now that Mr. Morton knows what he's dealing with). The conversation was later printed in the magazine like this:

**Dazed & Confused: **Given the mad eclectics of the band, do you think the public is going to understand Gorillaz? **Murdoc: **If the music works, that's all that counts and I don't like to think of people as stupid. **2-D: **You're always calling me stupid. **Murdoc: **That's different. You are stupid.

**Destiny: **That's mean, Murdoc. Besides, not like much can be said about your own intelligence level. **D&C: **Who do you regard as the competition? **Murdoc: **There aren't any other bands like us so were not in competition. **D&C: **What's the chemistry between you and 2-D? **Murdoc: **I saved his life so he owes me his soul. I write all the tunes and he gets all the press attention.

**D&C: **And with Destiny?

**Destiny: **2D and I met when he was still working in the Organ Emporium. I stepped into his shop one day and we just hit it off. We had been friends for another solid month or two, but after Derrick just up and quit we lost touch.

**D&C:** It's been suggested that a lot of attention Gorillaz have had so far is cause 2-D looks so cool, is that something you're happy for the band to exploit? **Destiny: **2-D is cool. So-

**Murdoc: **No, that's not right. I could see right from the start that his sticky up hair would go down well with the 13-year-old girls, thus why this little bird thinks so. I'm happy to exploit that to a point, (aside) but I wouldn't let him do any interviews by himself. **D&C: **Does it upset you that 2-D gets so much of the attention, particularly from girls? **Murdoc:** Like I said, he may get attention from 13-year-olds but I think we all know who the ladies like.

**Destiny: **I like 2-D…

**Murdoc: **Oi, just shut up. **D&C:** Do you think the Britney's and Christinas and Kylies currently dominating the charts deserve to be there? **Murdoc:** The charts have always been dominated by turdy music for children's parties, that's nothing new. I'm not going to waste my time getting pissed off about it because the more shit there is about, the better for us. But I quite like Kylie. **D&C:** Is the punk side of Gorillaz stuff an expression of your current alimentation or a memory from difficult teen years? **Murdoc:** I reached puberty when I was eight and I lost my virginity to a dinner lady at nine and I've been in a bad mood ever since.

**Destiny: **I've just been sheltered from all this stuff, so me just starting to now understand it is where I'm coming from.

**D&C: **Who would you say is the leader of Gorillaz?

**Murdoc: **Yeah, I let Destiny get her opinion in when I want it, but besides that, I am.

**Destiny: **It's kind of like a joint-dominance, really. Murdoc does all the publicity stuff and I'll read and sign for the paperwork, mostly because I understand them. So there's really no one person in charge.

**Murdoc: **I'm not joking, but can you like- shut up now?

**Destiny: **Sorry. **D&C:** You were caught shoplifting on a number of occasions culminating in the judge describing you as "truculent, devious and profoundly wicked". Was that fair? **Murdoc: **Absolutely, I am truculent, I am wicked. **D&C: **Damon from Blur has restraining order against you after you stalked him, threatened him with a baseball bat and tried to extort money from him at the height of Britpop? Was that a cry for help? **Murdoc: **That story is bullshit, I met Damon for the first time five months ago when Dan (the Automator) got him in to work on some of our tunes. I think I can say we hit it off pretty well. **Russel: **He said he thought you were a wanker. **D&C: **Does the ghost rapper inside Russel have a message from the afterlife? **Russel: **I want to put a stop to all of this right now. People have been coming to me asking to speak to Tupac, asking to speak to Easy E, asking to speak to Biggy- I'm not the Doris Stokes of the hip hop world, it's just Del and me. **D&C: **If you could battle Eminem or the Wu Tang clan, who'd you choose? **Russel: **Dougie Fresh and the Get Fresh Crew, because him and Stick Rick had it going on.

**D&C: **Noodle's been quiet…

**Destiny: **Oh, she doesn't really understand English just yet. I'm trying to teach her and be her translator, but it's all still fairly new.

**D&C: **Think you can get her to answer some stuff for us?

**Destiny: **No.

**D&C:** Well then…does "M1 A1" come from your feelings relating to urban isolation?

**Murdoc: **I've always been a big Howard Devoto fan and was listening to Magazine while driving up to Stoke to see my Grandma on Christmas day. The motorway was completely empty and it reminded me of Romero's 'Day of the dead' so I sort of stuck all that together and came up with 'M1 A1'

**D&C: **What's the fascination with zombies?

**Murdoc: **2-D is completely obsessed with them and he's kind of tainting the young one [Destiny]'s mind with it also, but I did work in the Super drug in the Elephant and Castle shopping centre for a while. That place is full of zombies.

**D&C: **Tell us about your childhood in Crawley, 2-D.

**2-D: **I bunked off school when I was 11 to watch American Werewolf in London, a Fang Face cartoon and Zombies Dawn Of the Dead on my mate's Betamax. I was so scared that I rode my bike home, crying all the way.

**D&C: **Do you think you're cut out to survive the pressures of fame?

**Noodle: **Midoruneme wa femi desu

**D&C: **?

**Destiny: **Something about "Fame is my middle name, yeah".

**2-D:** If the pressure gets to much I'm gonna tell everybody to fuck off.

**D&C: **I thought you said you couldn't translate her Japanese…

**Murdoc [glugging more vodka]:** Look pal, Hello magazine can round my galf any time. I've got me pentagram pinny and I can cook a wicked Toad In The Hole. Kate Moss can be in the pictures. I know she's up for a shag. This band, mostly down to me, are the bollocks of the gods. Who else is there, Oasis? Boring old wank, Sting? Tuna fish snogger! Fred Durst? Fred West more like. And I've seen plumber's arses that are better looking than Five. We are our own independent state. We do not recognize Carnden. Official, We do not recognize Oldham. We are virtual crack for the stereo! And the sooner twats like you realize it the better. So can we do photos now? My arse is ready for a close up.

* * *

"Photos?" I asked panically afterwards. "And what is this about close-ups?" Murdoc, rising from the couch with everyone else, clamped his ears. "Oi, would you shut up? You didn't stop talking _once_ this whole time and I'm gettin' sick of it!"

"Murdoc, c'mon! You've got the keys, don't you?" Russel called from the doorway already. Murdoc yelled back at him something else and Roger was still clicking away everything we said/did. I knew the pictures weren't going to go well. Murdoc is just as bad on camera as he is off and **now **he's drunk too. It was going to completely ruin our whole careers!

'Oh God, screw this. I'll take matters into my own hands,' I thought to myself as I found the telephone on the desk and took the receiver with me under it. Then, I dialed Damon's oh so familiar phone number. He was kind of like our agent, but Murdoc would never let us call him that. "C'mon, pick up!" I said to myself, not daring to look over the table and witness the disorganization that everyone was in as they piled out the door.

I got the machine. "Crap!" I angrily hung up the phone and sat with my back to the edge of the desk. I was mad at Damon for not picking up, but more at Murdoc for not organizing us before the interview and giving us a few days to prepare a few speeches and lay down some rules (like no drinking while being asked questions).

So I became desperate and meddlesome and called Jamie Hewlett next. The wait for him to pick up felt like it was taking years. "Oh man, Jamie, _please_ be home…!"

Then I heard, *Hi, this is Jamie! Not home at the moment…er, so leave a message! BEEP*

**Crap! **"Hey Jamie." I noticed how hopeless my voice sounded. "It's Destiny…Listen…Murdoc booked us an interview with Dazed and Confused without telling us about it, and it's going bad. I'd feel a lot better if someone more professional was here, but since you're not, never mind…You don't have to call me back. Bye-"

*Wait! Hello? Destiny? Hello!* Jamie suddenly answered and I felt a wave of relief.

"Jamie, hi! Did- did you get my message?"

*Yes, I was walking in right as you started. I was printing the images from the cartooning appointment before and the video shoot* I was overjoyed! I was beginning to doubt Jamie's dedication and procrastination because we hadn't heard from him for weeks about the shoot, but he was doing it all along! I knew he would come through and now I could only hope he would again. *What do you want me to do?*

"Meet us there!" I blurted. "I mean, just, like-"

*I hear ya. Where?* I gave him the address. *Okay, I'll be there!*

And we hung up.

2D came around the desk then and saw me on the floor. His migraine was apparently warring off, because he was looking at me with a worried expression. "Deaftiny, wot're you doin'? We're all leavin' to teh fotoshoot."

"I know. I'm going," I told him and rose to my feet. He was so much more taller than me, that his chin tucked into his chest to see me. I took a step back. "2-D can you promise me something? _Do not_ listen to Murdoc all day, okay?"

2D looked at me with blank eyes and raised an eyebrow. "Love, I neva listen to him anyway. But it's good to know you approve of it."

I leaped at him and clung to 2D's waist. He was taken aback a little, but hugged me all the same. "You're so awesome, you know that?"

2-D's face flushed with modesty and smiled, "Well, you're awesome too, but-"

"Oi! Lovebirds, we don't got all day!" Murdoc's voice from outside said and he honked the horn of his car. The Vauxhall Astra. Great. That's his "speed-demon" car.

As soon as Murdoc stopped yelling though, 2D jumped away and sped to the door, grabbing his jacket in one quick motion. Pathetically, he looked back at me and found my disappointed features. He almost said "sorry", but ran out when the quick horn was pushed again.

I gathered myself and while walking to the open front door, I pretended to crack a whip at 2D and go "WIC-KHESH!". Simple-minded puppet; he is.

* * *

The Gorillaz' chauffeur quit last week after discovering Murdoc had disemboweled a taxidermy's black cat and strapped it to the limo's fender while parked up outside the Mercury Awards. So, sniffing inculpate off a King Tubby CD, the Dick Dastardly of Stoke on Trent tears up the A roads north, bawling at birds, head turning round to yawp at the petrified hack, seemingly guided by one of Beelzebub's secret satellites. At 89 m.p.h. and with Noodle sitting on my lap, I was squished beside Roger Morton, who still had his typewriter out even in the car- and the door. 2D sat on the other side of him and Russel in the passenger seat. The loud metal music hurt my ears.

Russel had been exhausted for such a long time and us squished in the car was no different. He was leaning his head back, almost like the music was mute to him, and sleeping in his coma-like state. I wondered if Del had something to do with it, but all this was subsided to my current 120 m.p.h. situation.

"You wanna slow down, Muds? You're going One-twenty and the speed limit is-"

"Shut up, girlie, I'm gonna pass this truck!" Murdoc slammed his foot on the gas pedal and we all shifted left and right as he switched lanes and flew by the 8-wheeler. Noodle cheered with her head sticking out the window and 2D was clutched to all sides of the car, hyperventilating. My hair flew around with the gusty wind.

Roger Morton, however, took more notes. He hadn't said a word the whole trip, I noticed.

I wasn't the only one. "You know, you haven't said a word this whole road trip," Murdoc said in a nice tone while glancing in his rearview mirror.

"Well, I-"

"No, no, you need not explain yourself," Murdoc interrupted and held up a hand to stop him. I would smack his forehead, but my hands were stuck under Noodle (I wonder if he planned it to be this way). "How about a story, huh?" Murdoc said and reached down to the stereo, where he expertly shut it off and maintained insane speeds. "I'll tell you about the world's greatest band in the world and they're _**US!**_ We're better than all the cheap people today who produce music just because they're told to. _**Our**_ music comes from the heart, baby. That is, what heart I do have. I'm telling ya…and and, I'll tell you a little side-story too; One time, my buddy and I, er, I forget his name, but that's not importa-"

"Murdoc, look out!" I screamed, watching the road up ahead curve and Murdoc going straight

**To a cliff!**

* * *

We all screamed and our driver did nothing to steer us away from the leaf-coated bend, so the Astra went straight over the steep end, crashing through a guardrail in the process.

We rolled down, literally until we bounced off a haystack and land on a now flattened chicken coop. Upside down, no less. People were coughing, complaining about injured body parts, and/or trying to shift around so they could be better situated.

Russel roll-called us, "Is everyone alright? Noodle?"

"Hai," she responded.

"2D?"

His response was a high-pitched squeal. He was fine.

"Mr. Morton, sir? Are you alright?"

"I think so."

"You forgot me!" Murdoc said angrily.

"I meant to." Russel, sharply. "Destiny? You okay, baby?"

I lifted my right thumb; the only body part not crushed by Noodle who was still on top of me. I felt numb and uncomfortable, but I was okay and safe (for now). I just couldn't get wait for someone to remove Noodle from my lap/face.

"Alright, let's get out of here." Russel eased himself out of his chair, crawling out upside down, but able to get upright outside the car.

Murdoc got out too, and the pair helped 2-D, then Roger Morton, and finally Noodle jumped out on her own.

"'Ight Destiny, it's your turn. Can you crawl out yourself or do you need help?"

"No, I got it," I told Russel, unbuckling myself quickly and landing my head on the roof. "Ow!"

"Destiny you okay?"

"No…" I moaned, holding my head.

"Alrighty then…" Russel sighed, almost in a complaining tone. He was really beginning to sound upset by a lot of little things and it not only started to bug me, but worry me. Russel always seemed to be okay, except now. I wondered how I could find out what.

The arms that pulled me out were Murdoc's and he set me down and brushed off some broken glass from my shoulders.

A tiny yellow bird passed my eyes. Then another. And another. I realized my head was encircled by tiny yellow birds that would be seen after a cartoon gets hurt.

I giggled, "Pretty birds." and fell on Murdoc's shoulder, hoping they'd go away soon.

* * *

_To: Jamie (Cell)_

_From: Destiny (Cell)_

_Gonna be a lil late to the office due to reckless driving. Thanks again & see you there!_

* * *

Russel flipped the car over and this time _he_ drove. Roger Morton sat beside him in the front and that made more room for the four of us in the back. We made it to the Dazed and Confused building within a half hour

And Jamie wasn't there.

'Where is he? We're going to start shooting soon, and Murdoc is already beginning to suggest stupid things!' I thought, almost biting my lip to the point of bleeding and eagerly looked from the door to the band.

The room we were in was a nice ensemble. A standard greenroom; white walls, wood floors, a mini-bar, a few couches, a pool table (that which I don't know how to play), and the clothes were on a rail and multiple hangers, and a white wash in the corner for photo-taking.

"Oh, Love?" Murdoc asked behind me.

"Yea- OH GOD!" I screamed and shielded my eyes from the sight.

Murdoc was in his briefs only, holding a pool cue to the table in a very inappropriate place where a man's, um…thing is. He was smirking at me. "Would you care to play a round of billiards with me? I promise to go easy on you." This was followed by a Murdoc Nicalls signature laugh.

"No, spanks- THANKS! No. Thanks. Murdoc!" I corrected myself and walked away from Murdoc, stiffly looking around the room. Noodle was scribbling on the floor. Russel passed out again on the couch. Murdoc was already practically _naked_. And 2D was already taking off his shirt and glanced my way. If I wasn't deep red already, I was now.

"Love," 2D asked me in an adult kind of way. "Why aren't you gettin' ready for teh fotos?"

"Um. I. I don't know," I stuttered. 2D just held his shirt in his hands and stared. He wasn't the buffest man out there, and- truth be told- he doesn't really have a flat chest, but he was hard to not stare at all the same. "2-D, why are you taking off your shirt?" I ask, avoiding my gaze by staring at the corner of the couch at my left.

"Well, I tought I could get another one befor' we start cos I got blood on tis one."

"Oh no 2D, did you get hurt in the crash?" I ignored his chest and examined him for wounds. If he was really hurt, I was going to punch Murdoc into a coma.

"No, it's just a left ova from the beach thing tat h'ppend when you were hurt."

"Oh." I felt stupid. I mean, I hadn't seen the blood on his shirt all day because he was wearing his coat, but the color should have at least brought back memories. 'Ah, memories…' I thought, pulling the sleeve up on my right arm and looked at the bare skin. There was one slightly noticeable scar running along my whole forearm, but you really had to know what you're looking for in order to see it.

'Had 2-D not known what he was doing, would I have bleed to death? Would I have been able to clean myself up?' Questions like these ran through my mind a lot. Mostly at night when I lay in bed and stare at the stars. '2D knows medical procedures that most people wouldn't know without going to med. school. He saved my life, so do I owe him that? My life? How could I pay him back that except to lov-

'NO! NO! I DO NOT LIKE 2D LIKE THAT!' I scolded myself in my head. I had decided to admit to myself that I do like 2D, not like a friend or guardian, but like a celebrity crush. Like a screaming fan girl in the 1960s for teenage Beatles. A figure that- in my case- I would date in an instant…had I been older. And it'll pass like a phase.

"Uh, Deaftiny?" 2-D's voice asked and snapped me back to reality. Apparently I had been staring at my scar for a solid three minutes so I quickly re-covered it with my jacket sleeve and replied 2-D with a quick 'yeah?'. "Teh guy t'ere's callin' you. Wos for some time…"

"Oh, thanks. Catch ya later," I waved as I left the room to meet the man in the doorway. Although I wasn't entirely in the present mentally, I still heard 2D say to himself "And I thought I was spacey…" which made me snicker to myself.

"Ms. Destiny?" The timid human in the doorway asked when I was close enough. He was a nerd and clutched the side of the door frame, shaking.

"Yes? I'm Destiny."

"Um…well I'm a huge fan, so forgive my nervousness-"

"Aw! Thank you!" I squealed and clasped my hands on my heart. I'd never encountered a random fan like this before.

He smiled quickly, soon disappearing. "There's also a man here wanting to see you. He said you called him here, but he looks very suspicious…should I call security?"

I didn't have to think about who this shady character could be because Jamie was already the shadiest person I know. I told him excitedly to let Jamie in and so he left.

"Oi, girlie!" I heard him behind me before he turned me around violently. Obviously, Murdoc. "The hell are you callin' all these shots for? In case you forgot, _I _am _your_ manager!" He was squeezing my shoulder and his eyes were very hazy, but not enough to be drunk. Clearly, he found the mini bar. "If you don't start acting like a front girl and not a manager, I swear you'll be kicked out of this band faster than you can blink! I don't care who's your guardian!"

I was a little surprised. Murdoc had never threatened that before. After all, wasn't he the one who almost begged me to stay in Jamaica? 'He must be really mad at me. I should stop worrying so much and just let Murdoc act himself out.' I thought while swatting away his grip and smiled like I wasn't affected by the threat. "Don't worry, Muds. We can start now."

"Really?" Before I could nod, he continued, "Then- who were we-"

"Hey guys! Sorry I'm late." Jamie's voice was like heaven coming behind me. His organization and drawing skills will transform and amplify all the twisted ideas of Murdoc's into that of pure genius.

Along with Jamie came his assistant…again. Today Ally was wearing bright pink shorts with long suspenders hanging about her legs, black stockings and knee-high neon green army boots, two jackets layered on top of one another (the one inside was zipped up all the way and was rainbow-patterned and the outer one was just black) that were two sizes too big for her, a hat that looked like man but had a blood splattered pattern on a black background, and all her usual piercing and colorful accessories that jingled when she moved.

As the two passed us, I felt an urge of kindness. "I like pink, too!" I don't really like pink too much, actually.

Ally glared at me and stopped to say, "I hate pink" before she continued following her boss. I was totally confused before remembering she was colorblind. Normally, I'd tell her, but Ally is a mean person.

Obviously, Murdoc saw them too, put two and two together, and while gripping the front of my shirt, he yelled, "WOT ARE THEY DOIN' HERE?"

I pushed him off and backed off some. "Your ideas are going to give Gorillaz a bad rep! Of course I called Jamie to come take charge of the photo shoot!"

"You have no right!"

"Yeah I do! I'm in this band too, ya know!"

"Not anymore! You're FIRED!"

I was taken aback and pouted at Murdoc, holding back my tears so he wouldn't know how defeated I felt.

"Alright!" Jefferson Hack, the editorial director of Dazed and Confused, clapped for our attention while entering the room. "Let's start taking some photos, eh?"

I glared at Murdoc one last time before I went and sat at the couch.

Despite Murdoc's threat, I was still put in the pictures as Jamie posed us and Ally drew. Sometimes he would show her a thing or two about posing (evidence that they were still working on her internship) and Murdoc and I didn't say anything, but everyone felt the heaviness of the situation. By the end of the shoot, the band had all heard about our fight and the ride home was so tense that it could be cut with a knife (so they say).

**December 6****th**** 2000: Worldwide media debut in Dazed & Confused magazine**

* * *

When we were sent our copies of the release, we all sat in the same room and read them over. The article was great; Roger Morton loved us and put out a great review concerning our album. He didn't write any drama about Murdoc or my fight, and even said he had _fun_ while doing the interview.

"Wow, this is a great read," Russel said from where he was spread out across the couch.

Noodle, who sat at his feet, was playing with a Tomigachi and smiled when she heard him say so. Russel was reading the article to her earlier, too. She screamed something in her language and in mine it translated, "We're gonna get loads of good publicity from this for our album!"

"It even says here how much tat Roger guy loved Destiny. He said she fit righ' in wit us cartoon people. Look, tere's a lil' snippet of 'er face 'ere for, like, her own interview or somefink." 2-D read off from his spot on the floor and turned on his side to show us where the side-article was. "He said tat she wos in 'good hands'…woteva tat means."

I also sat on the floor, leaning against the couch where Murdoc was sitting at the other end. I was still reading the last paragraph, but I felt a hand on my shoulder and had to look up. Murdoc was leaning down and smiling at me and lightly squeezed my arm. "You did good, girlie. But next time, don't even think of trying to upstage my carnival of fun, ya little four foot runt." He gave my cheek a quick pinch and sat back upright.

"Does this mean I'm not kicked from the band?"

Murdoc glared at me and whipped his paper to straighten out the magazine. "For now, no, ya lucky leprechaun."

I smiled a toothy grin at him. Leprechauns are mischievous. And so am I.

* * *

**Me: Okay, that was some 7,780 words. Woo! **

**Murdoc: You know, I really hate that you make me like that runt like that.**

**Me: Who? Destiny?**

**Murdoc: Yeah. I mean, she REALLY is annoying the CRAP outta me lately. I mean, trying to conduct MY BAND'S INTERVIEW?**

**Destiny: You were fucking everything up, of course I had to!**

**Russel: Language, young lady.**

**Destiny: Oh, please, Russel. *rolls eyes***

**Noodle: *Screaming in Japanese***

**Me: T_T What? Another one?**

**2D: Wot did she say?**

**Destiny: She wants us all to stop fighting**

**Me: That can be arranged since I'm gonna go play with my new phone. Review please! Tell me what I may change if you want something to happen! I'm thinking of either posting the X-Mas Special next, or go straight into the Clint Eastwood video. You tell me what to do please!**


	18. Christmas Special Chapter 18

I was writing this before Halloween...Holy crap. I'm done. ^-^ This is the longest enstalement yet, and it's got a lot of everything in it. Fluff and all. So I'm done til next year. -.- NO FLUPPIN RECAP EITHER!

A few days before the video came out, I was sitting around the lobby waiting for Murdoc and Russel to come back from a mysterious errand they were on. I waited patiently with my laptop in hand and typing away at various e-mails to our co-workers until 2D passed by, whistling in the strange way he does (having no front teeth) to a tune I had heard previously. I just didn't know where.

"2-D," I called after him.

He turned around and saw me, smiled, and strode in three long steps to the couch, sitting close beside me. "Yes, Love?"

I blushed. I slowly let 2D start calling me that, because for his birthday I gave him a coupon that allowed him one freebee and he used it for every time he calls me 'Love'. Clever for 2D's standards, I disagreed until he really started getting upset and said that my gift to him was a lie. I sigh and let the nickname stick, "What song are you whistling? I think I've heard it before…"

2D looks at me with his puzzled 'I taught you knew, seein' as ta how you're nine and already bright-er tan me' look. "Why, it's tat Christmas song. You know- 'We Wish You a Merry Christmas'."

"Christmas!" I almost screamed with joy, my laptop flying out of my hands. It's been getting abused a lot lately.

At that moment, Russel burst through the front door with a huge green pine tree, one that almost didn't fit through the front doors or stand in the lobby, and cold air blew all around the lobby. 2D shivered behind me, his teeth chattering away.

I jumped from the couch and bounced at the sight of the magnificent thing. It was so green, so lush, and so perfect. I'd always imagined a pine tree to be just like this (Well…that's cartoons for ya). I almost blurted, "We're gonna celebrate Christmas this year!"

Russel lugged the enormous tree in and set it upright as best as it could without scraping against the ceiling. "That's right," He sighed, wiping his forehead with a gloved hand as he examined it. "Since we couldn't last year because we were in such a panic to finish the album, our vacation to Jamaica, etc."

"Balls, and dickin' knickers!" Murdoc yelled, slamming the door with his foot. "It's so f-f-fucking cold! W-wh-what the h-h-'ell?" He blew warm air into his hands.

"Here, Murdoc. I'm warm," I said and hugged Murdoc's hands in mine. His fingers were freezing. "Is there any snow outside?"

"Je-Jee-Jeesuz, girlie, you've been here t-t-two years and you still want sn-now? Ain't you given up h-h-hope?" Murdoc chattered, matching 2-D's in the background. They sounded like two chipmunks.

"No, it's not that," I corrected him, still warming his hands in mine. "It's just, I really want Santa Claus to come see our enormous house and bring presents for all of us. And it'd make me so much happier with snow so that we could all play in it and enjoy ourselves so that when Santa comes, he would see how happy I am now and know that I'm not naughty. It's just, I've always wanted to see his red outfit, and the sled and his reindeer, and give him cookies just like I wanted to. And he would be pleased with them and know how hard I worked on them. And we would all decorate the tree together, and then we could sit around the tree and exchange presents with one another. After all, Christmas is about joy, sharing, love-"

"AH NO, NO, NO, NO!" Murdoc started saying above my own voice. "I won't be hearing about any of this love crap! Not now! Not ever!"

"You're right…!" I suddenly remembered and broke off from Murdoc, backing away slowly. "There's no time for that now…there's too much to be done before Santa comes! I've got to bake cookies, and put up decorations, and find a chimney in this house so I can set up my greeting for him, and make a greeting for him-" I snatched the master key ring off of Murdoc and ran to the elevator.

"HEY! GET BACK 'ERE!"

"Darn it, Murdoc! There's no time to loose!" I said dramatically and poked the button to the next floor. While I waited for the doors to close, I waved at them with a goofy smile. They stared back oddly.

* * *

**3rd person POV so that it's easier to write the going-ons of everyone. A Christmas gift for you all, let's just say. ;)**

After Destiny left the three men in the lobby, they exchanged glances and Russel was clasping his heart. "Aw. Wasn't that just the most touching speech ever?"

Murdoc however, was not affected. "Whatever, mate, now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get my keys back, dammit!"

Murdoc tried to storm off, but Russel stepped in front of him and put out a hand. "Wait, Muds, we can't just let this go unnoticed. This is Destiny's first _real_Christmas. We have to make it special for her."

Murdoc was still unconvinced. However 2D was ready and willing to do anything for his favorite little girl. She was special to him and no matter what, he was always loyal to her one hundred percent.

"Why do we have to do anything for her, huh? Last I remember she's the one prancing around my house, not the other way around," Murdoc said, jabbing a thumb behind him.

Russel folded his arms and stared at Russel with the ultimate 'I know how to get to your soft spot for her' look. "Yeah, but you made her feel pretty horrible when you threatened to kick her out of the band and you still owe me for not punching your face in for making her feel so bad."

Murdoc knew he was right. No matter how hard of a satanic, bad-ass, dictator he wanted to look, Murdoc still loved Destiny like she was his own daughter. At the very least he admitted to himself that his interest was solely because he had big plans for her future and to make her something for herself. Give her the life he never had or something.

But whether he was soft for Destiny or not, Murdoc could still feel the guilt when he remembered Destiny's face when she glared at him in the photo studio. It broke what substitute of a heart Murdoc had. "Ugh, fine! Okay! What do you want from me?"

"I'll help, too…" 2-D cowardly said and approached the two, his fingers drumming together nervously. "If it makes Deaftiny 'appy, I'd kill to help."

"Well of course _you_ will, dullard." 2-D looked at Murdoc questioningly.

"Yeah, 'D. It's no secret that you and her are close. But that's okay. She takes a liking to you too; I can tell," Russel said as thought it wasn't obvious. Everyone except for thick 2D could tell that Destiny liked him simply because she's familiar with him. However, no one considered it being more than just that…

"Really?" 2D asked, excitingly.

"Yeah. Really," Russel rolled his eyes while saying this, mono-tonally.

"Then are we gonna stand around forever talking about this or do you have some sort of brilliant fucking plan?"

"Well you heard her yourself; Destiny said she wants to see Santa. And his reindeer and sled, and bake cookies for him, and decorate the tree, and get presents. She's so innocent…" While Russel dreamt of his daughter, Murdoc started to snicker.

"Oh sure, Big boy!" Murdoc said in a sarcastic tone. "Lemmie just go grab my Santa sleigh prop and dozen or so reindeer and fly past the girl! ARE YOU INSANE? HOW IN SATAN'S HELL ARE WE GONNA PULL THIS TOGETHER!"

"Shh! Destiny will hear you!"

"What do I care? She's up in her room, with my fucking keys! Not like she's ever gonna come down!" Murdoc realized, "Which reminds me, I need to go get them back!"

He started to storm off until Russel grabbed his collar and pulled him back. He glared and whipped his hand away. "Murdoc, don't worry about that. I'll handle it. You and 2D just need to keep her clueless, got it?"

2-D's face became blank. "Clueless about what?"

Murdoc slaps his forehead. "Ah, Christ."

* * *

And so it all began. After the quick meeting, Russel immediately went to work on building the sleigh in the corner of the garage. All the materials for such a project were there, all he had to do was modify one of the broken cars to do so and make it light enough to put on the roof on Christmas night. Then he would start constructing electronic reindeer and make them life-like (taxidermy) so that they could fool Destiny's brilliant mind. It was a task best left to Russel because he wanted to work on it alone.

Next was 2-D who was the distraction of the whole operation. He went straight to Noodle who was put in charge of making the costume for "Santa Claus". Noodle, however, refused immediately because Christmas had to do with religion which she is strongly against. After much coaxing from 2D, she reluctantly agreed and pulled out red fabric from her closet. Then, 2-D left her to work and he went to find a room with good access to the ventilation system so that he could build a mantel-prop around it to look like a chimney. Then he would drag the tree that Russel and Murdoc got that day into the room. He was so excited about the whole project he could barely wait to see the happiness on "his Love's" face.

Finally, Murdoc- obviously wanting as little work as possible in this whole affair- was the first to find Destiny and keep her away from 2D's room so that Russel could work in the passing garage. He also wanted to get his damn keys back, so it was good for him to find her first and keep an eye on her…at least, until he got his keys back.

Murdoc found Destiny in her room and she- obviously- wanted to go find 2-D and ask him about Christmas carols that she wants to play on the piano for Santa on Christmas morning.

"Er, right. Say, why don't you do that later, bird," Murdoc said politely putting his hand on Destiny's back and led her to the kitchen. "First, I want to share a _Winter Tradition_ with you. It's called hot chocolate and squishy marshmallows. Shall we?"

Destiny was still unsure though she put on a crooked smile for him. "Okay? We shall. Though, why the sudden acts of kindness?" Destiny stopped and got a sly look on her face. "Wait a minute, I know what you're doing!"

'Shit!' Murdoc thought with the most worried look he could compose. 'The brat's brighter than I thought she was!' "Wha-wha-wha- what do you mean?" Murdoc asked, nonchalantly.

"I mean, I know what you're doing is because you want to get on my good side so you can get a better present from me!" Destiny concluded, her hands on her hips triumphantly.

Murdoc let out a sigh of relief, not knowing he was holding his breath in the first place. He almost smacked his forehead, but instead took Destiny under his arm and guided her closer to the kitchen. And he was worried that he was found out! "Er, yeah Destiny. How'd you know? You're so clever," He quickly said in a sarcastic tone that Destiny didn't hear.

"Oh, Murdoc! You know you're one my most favorite people ever. You don't have to go through all this in order to get a great present cause you're already getting a really really great one!"

"Really?" Murdoc asked, sarcastic again.

"As long as it fits into the minuscule and sorry budget you excuse for an allowance that you give me, then yeah. Really!" And on that note, she squeezed Murdoc as they rose in the elevator to the same floor as the kitchen.

Murdoc found her dedication to the holiday both amusingly sad, and a bit touching. While he was rolling his eyes at everything she said about 'presents', or 'love', or 'Santa', he had to admit (silently to himself as to not ruin his bad-ass image) that even he found faith in the joyous holiday and making her happy was all the Christmas gift he would need. Hey, Destiny is cute and hopeless, after all.

As the two entered the kitchen, Murdoc's face twisted into horror as he found Noodle sitting at the table. WITH THE SANTA COSTUME! **IN FRONT OF DESTINY!**

Destiny quickly saw her, too. "Hey, Noodle," She said casually then saw the red cloth. "What're you doing with that-" Acting quickly and with nothing else on his mind, Murdoc suddenly tackled Destiny to the ground, covering her eyes with his body. "Hey! Murdoc! What the hell!"

**

* * *

**

"Go! _GO_!" Murdoc silently mouthed to Noodle. She quickly gathered all her supplies and glided over the clump of bodies in the doorway. Then she sneakily ran down the hall and disappeared into her room just in time for Destiny to push Murdoc off.

"What the hell was that for?" She demanded.

Murdoc didn't know what to say. His face-and mind- was blank. He just had to make up an excuse quick!

Noticing the key ring attached to Destiny's belt loop, he snatched it in his grimy hand and spun it around a finger. "Ah ha! Finally got these back!" Then Murdoc turned on his Cuban heel and walked back towards the elevator.

Destiny called after him, "That's it? You were just acting nice to get your keys back?"

"Of course I did! You know I hate it when you take my stuff!" Murdoc called back, slyly. He felt so cool and smart.

"What about the hot chocolate?"

"Forget about it, Love! It's called a bluff!"

Destiny pouted after him and stormed into the kitchen by herself.

* * *

An hour later, Destiny figured out how to make hot chocolate. She then carried two mugs of the brown concoction towards the garage so that she could share it with her best friend, 2D (since Noodle had her door locked and Russel was no where to be found.). The garage, however, was where Russel was working in the back, welding red pieces of metal together to construct the sled. Destiny saw the sparks from the torch and started to wonder what it was.

"Hello?" She called out multiple times. No answer. 'That's weird. I wonder if Murdoc's back there,' She thought. Then an idea came to mind, 'I should give him a piece of my mind! …Better yet, a splash of burning hot chocolate.' So with a mischievous smile, Destiny made her way around the winnebago as to not be noticed and started getting ready to pounce. She was just about to jump him when suddenly the sparks stopped and Russel circled around right in front of her. "Russel? What're you doing back there, I thought you were Murdoc...?"

"Oh, Destiny!" Russel said, surprised himself. Russel was expecting Murdoc to help him out and was very much caught off guard when he saw Destiny instead. Like Murdoc, he too had to come up with an on-the-spot excuse. "I, uh, didn't think you would be down here…what're you doing, um, sweetie?"

"I'm gonna go find 2D and ask him if he wants any cocoa…what are you doing?" She asked in such an innocent way that Russel found her irresistibly cute.

"Uh, nothing!"

"Then why were you back there in the corner of the garage? And why do you have a welding mask on? And why did I see sparks before you came out here? And why are-"

"Sh sh sh, Destiny! You know what they say: Curiosity killed the cat!" Russel chuckled if off as if it was nothing. "I'm just-er- repairing a car that Murdoc asked me and that's my, uh…Christmas present for him?"

The suspicion Destiny once had faded away. She smiled and felt warm and fuzzy all over again. "Aw, Russel! That's so sweet of you!" And so Destiny glomped Russel in a hug.

A tape of a Santa recording go *Ho Ho Ho! Marry Christmas!* started to play then, for Russel had not fixed the glitches in it. "What was that?" Destiny asked, which put Russel on his toes again.

"Nothing! I mean, I didn't hear anything! Uh…" Russel then got out all the money from his wallet and shoved it in Destiny's pocket. "Here! Why don't you go get 2-D and have him take you shopping for Christmas presents?"

Destiny's eyes widened with delight. "That's a great idea! Oh, thank you, Russel!" And with that, she put down the two cups of hot cocoa and dashed in the opposite direction to 2-D's room.

Russel sighed in relief and picked up one of the cups, shaking his head. "Man, that girl will believe anything so long it's got to do with Christmas cheer." Then he took a sip of the hot substance. It was very chocolaty and sugary, much to Russel's disappointment. He dumped the drink where he stood and went back to work. "Kids," He murmured to himself.

* * *

The doors opened automatically to the mall and Destiny's delighted eyes met with all the presents that lay ahead of her. Noodle, who was also on the trip, dashed ahead of her as soon as the doors opened and sped to the toy aisle with a loud squeal of joy. Destiny simply giggled to herself and ran ahead after her, turning down to go to a different department.

2-D, however, stood in the doorway and smirked to himself, stepping in politely after the two ran off. He had his hands tucked away in his orange jacket pockets and listened to his converse squeak against the tile from the slush that dragged in from outside. 'Wow,' The clueless man thought to himself. 'They sure are excited. I wonder if it's because of the shiny new things on all these shelves.' As 2D walked down the aisles, browsing for nothing in particular, he read all the different products that lay ready to be bought.

'Chrissmas is about joy, and sharing, and making other people happy. Deaftiny likes making people happy all the time. Tis no wonder she's so happy about tis time of year. God, she's so perfect. Deaftiny is- like- the perfect kid, I bet. She's so sweet and toughtful, and pritty and educated, and wonderful. I'm so happy I got to see her again. She hasn't changed a bit since the last time I saw her. Man, I'd do anything for that kid-'

"_Well of course _you_ will, dullard_." Murdoc's comment suddenly rang through 2D's head. Suddenly, he stopped as 2-D tried to remember what else Russel said earlier.

"It's no secret that you and her are close. But that's okay. She takes a liking to you too; I can tell."

2D thought long and hard as he started to make conclusions about what Russel said. 2-D was just as special to Destiny as she is to him.

With his eyebrows pulled together, 2D said aloud, "I'm gonna hafta find a really great present for Deaftiny. I want 'er to know she means a lot to me, too." And so, 2-D went on his own mission to look for the perfect gift for Destiny. 'But wot do girls like?' ran through 2D's head as he searched. 'Well, girls like make-up. And clothes, and shoes, and dolls, and clothes and shoes for their dolls.' But he knew Destiny wasn't into that kind of thing.

He navigated to the toy section of the mall and found a huge wall of things that weren't close to being perfect for Destiny. He had to find the absolute perfect gift for Destiny so she would know how special she was to him. So for probably fifteen minutes straight, 2D stared at the wall of toys, thinking.

Destiny was the first to find him with parcels of her own stacked in her hands. "Um, 2D?" She asked, bringing him from his clouds of thought.

He looked down at her and smiled, "Yes, Love?"

"I'm almost done shopping. I think Noodle is done, but she doesn't want me to see the things she has," Destiny said this, rolling her eyes at her friend's gullibility. "What about you, 2D? Have you finished finding your gifts?"

"Actually," 2D said, flat and honestly. "I have no clue where to even begin!"

"Oh," Destiny giggled, covering her mouth as she did so. This gave 2D a chance to really examine her. He knew she was cute, but it wasn't until now did 2-D actually see how cute Destiny was. Her nose was so small and curved upright; her eyes- which had always caught his eye- were glistening under the cheap florescent lights and sparkled as she laughed; Her lips curled perfectly across her face when she smiled; and her hair, uncapped and flowing freely, landed around her face so that it framed the curve of her jaw and covered her ears. 2D was almost stricken with longing. An emptiness that he only felt after he and Paula or Rachel Stevens broke up started to become prominent, and suddenly, filled. As though Destiny was all that 2D needed to be happy-

Wait, what was he thinking? 2D couldn't think of her in that way! She was eleven years younger than him, after all! 2-D took comfort in knowing that the reason he felt this was because Destiny was like a little sister to him and he couldn't be happier than seeing her grow up and live with him, like any other family.

"Well?" Destiny's voice said again, bringing him to reality. "Okay, well, I'm going to go buy a few more things. As soon as I get this out of the way, all I have to do is buy Russel's present and then I'll help you, okay?" She smiled another brilliant smile at him. 2-D nodded and she left. All of a sudden, a wave of anxiety took over him. 2D had to find a present for her before she came back.

'Tink, numbskull!' He thought to himself, tapping on his skull as though it would bring some sort of new enlightenment to him. 'Did Deaftiny eva say she want someting _really_ badly? No…Well, wot is someting Deaftiny doesn't have?'

2D walked through isles and eventually found himself where all his problems were solved: THE JEWELRY DEPARTMENT. "Oh! …Of course!" 2D said with a smile and speed-walked to the crystal items. In the glass tables 2-D looked for the best gift he could get for Destiny. His eyes scanning over the shiny and expensive objects, he was smiling as each one appealed to him more and more.

While browsing, 2D found a friendship necklace; One with a circle and engraving on one side that read 'Best Friends Last Forever'. It was all silver, save the jewel that could be chosen for the middle (for birthstones or such) and it came with a pair that looked just like it.

It couldn't be more perfect. He asked the lady at the counter if he could see it and she gave it to him. The smooth metal ran through his fingers and glistened as he held it up to the light. 2D knew it was perfect. Something in him said so.

"What're you looking at now?" Destiny's voice asked beside him, surprising the happy man.

"I-! Er-! Uh-!" He stuttered, trying- and ultimately failing- at hiding the gift.

"Oh my gosh!" Destiny gasped, taking the necklace between two of her own fingers. "That's so cute! It'll make a great present for Christmas! Who is it for, Stuart?"

'Stuart' was stuck in a pickle. He was always blunt and honest with Destiny; He made it a point to never lie to his best friend. It was backstabbing, betraying. But if he told his childhood friend about her gift for Christmas, then the surprise and magic of the holiday would be ruined. And if she 'just so happens' to find it under the tree from Santa, then she'd know instantly that Santa Claus doesn't exist.

Stuck in his storm of what to do, 2D finally said, "I wos just looking at it. It's not for anybody."

Destiny shrugged with a smile. "That's a shame. It's such a wonderful piece of jewelry! I would have loved it if I got that from someone." Then her face brightened. "You know what though? I'll put it on my wish list and maybe Santa will give it to me! Then I'll give the other half to you, okay?"

2D put on a sympathetic smile. She was so sweet, so sharing in his eyes. "Okay. We should do tat."

"Okay, well we should go now. The stores are closing and we need to go home and decorate and mail our wish lists and put up our stockings!"

So after 2D put down the necklaces, Destiny took his hand and Noodle- hands filled with shopping bags- alongside and returned home.

The necklaces were left un-purchased. 2D left giftless (except for the other band mates). And he felt heartbroken for lying to Destiny.

* * *

For a while, Destiny wrapped her presents alone and hid them in her closet in her room. Then she found 2D and Murdoc and the three of them started writing their X-Mas Wish lists. Sprawled out in a random room in Kong (one with four desks pushed together in the center of the room with matching writing chairs, a bulletin board with various Gorillaz song ideas, and other office-looking objects), they started writing their long wants and needs in silence.

2D looked up to Destiny and found her scrawling words with her tongue out to the side. "Wot d'you asking Santa to bring you, Love?"

Destiny wrote a little further before lifting her paper and smiling at her work in pride. "I have a lot of stuff! Like world peace, end world hunger, no more disease, cure for cancer-"

At this point, both Murdoc and 2D had tears flowing from their eyes and were thinking, 'She's so innocent and sweet!' T-T

"-But most of all, I'm wishing for him to let my parents know that I'm okay and to let me see them when he circles to that part of the world." She hugged the paper to her chest with the biggest and purist smile ever. "Wouldn't that just be the best?"

"The sappiness just oozes from that letter, ya pansy," Murdoc sourly said while rolling his eyes and tapping his pencil to his head like a fake gun, blowing it away as though it were his brains. "You're too soft to be a true rocker, you know that?"

"Elton John is an activist for multiple charities and awareness groups." Destiny retorted with a flat look.

"Your face is Elton John."

This time it was Destiny's turn to roll her eyes. "Okay then, Einstein. What's on your list then? A blow-up doll?" Murdoc simply held his paper up to her face and she read out loud,

"Dear Sanda Claws, I wish for World Dominashoun. Hale Satan. -Murdoc….You spelt 'Santa' wrong. …And 'domination'. …And-"

Murdoc pulled away the sheet and sat back in his seat, stubbornly. "Yeah, yeah, I'm not judging your wishes, am I? Twit…"

"Yeah you were." Destiny was about to retort further until she saw Noodle passing by in the hallway with a bunch of white cotton balls attached to her chin. The kind that she was using for the Santa costume she was making and idly walking around with to show Russel for approval.

"Hey, Noodle!" Destiny called. 2D and Noodles' hearts froze. Murdoc's breathing stopped (He has no heart? Ha-ha?). "What's up with the white beard? Is it for a costume or something?" She joked.

"Uh, uh, uh…!" Noodle stuttered, becoming more suspicious.

Murdoc, being the clever rat he is, hatched a brilliant idea and jabbed 2D's ribs sharply with a sudden jolt of his elbow. He instantly started to wheeze and choke. "Oh no! 2-D sounds hurt! I wonder what ever could be wrong with him!" He said in a very obvious tone.

Destiny turned around in her seat and kneeled beside 2D to get a better view of his face. "Oh, no! Are you okay? What's wrong, 2-D? Are you sick?" 2D couldn't catch his breath enough to answer.

While preoccupied, Murdoc waved at Noodle to hide the thing. Panicked, Noodle stuffed the thing in a plotted plant and stepped back in the doorway as though nothing happened. Murdoc felt so proud having killed two birds with one stone. Having fun and doing his part for this all at once.

After Destiny turned back to look at Noodle again, the beard was gone. "Hey, didn't you have a white beard before? Noodle, you definitely had one when you-"

"No think what Destiny talk about!" Noodle almost screamed that vaguely sounded like, 'I have no idea what you're talking about'.

Destiny shrugged it off after 2D pulled on her sleeve and pointed in Murdoc's direction, then his chest. "2D says you hurt him!" Destiny interpreted after he was breathing okay again.

"No, I didn't!" Murdoc replied with a smile.

"Well, I won't do anything about it now! Cause when you get coal on Christmas morning you'll have nobody to blame but yourself!" She said with a triumphant smirk.

Murdoc pouted evilly at her and swiped the three letters from the desks, shoved them in one envelope addressed to Santa, licked it close with his long tongue, and walked out. "Great," he said on his way out. "Black coal to match my black soul." This was followed by his famous laughter.

Destiny shook her head and took Noodle and 2-D with her to decorate the tree next. The three perpetrators breathed a silent sigh of relief. The mission "Santa and Destiny meet" was still in effect.

* * *

In the room where the tree was put, a fireplace was set up with a gas-lit log and realistic-looking flames in the center of the furthest wall, a couch facing the fireplace with a red upholstery, a side table (where cookies will eventually be placed for Santa's fat want/need), a grand piano, and other furnishings stolen from other rooms by Destiny. The tree, placed in the corner to the left of the fireplace, was being dressed by tinsel, colored balls made of glass, tiny lights, and a bright gold star.

**It's the Christmas scene that someone drew for Gorillaz. Easily found on google. It's tat room.**

By now the sled Russel was constructing is complete thanks to the minimal effort Murdoc has been providing every blue moon he's out of his Winnebago. It was a long and hard work and by now Russel was exhausted. So he gave Murdoc the job of beginning the reindeer framework so that he could cover it with actual pelts after he was rested. Noodle has also finished her Santa costume and was free to help distract Destiny with 2-D and help with Destiny's holiday needs. The date is now December 22nd.

With Murdoc gone to work on this project and Russel now asleep, Noodle and 2D had a happy time while decorating the tree with Destiny. "Isn't it exciting?" Destiny asked her friends, dressed in a red sweater and green khaki pants. She was handing Noodle decorations to go on the top branches of the pine. "It's almost here! Aren't you excited? Aren't you?"

Noodle nodded with an intense focus in her eyes. She didn't like the tree Russ and Muds picked out. It was too tall. And too thick. Even now, atop Destiny's shoulders, she had difficulty reaching the furthest branches. The only Christmas wear Noodle sported was a red and white scarf. "Tree is tall!" Noodle finally screamed, angrily giving up.

"Don't be mad, Noodle, we'll just ask 2-D for help. If you're on his shoulders, you'll be plenty tall, right 2D?" Destiny spun around to him, forcing Noodle to also.

2-D was assigned the job as "garland-unwind"er; untangling the gold strings and preparing to put them on the branches. However, 2D was very bad at this job and somehow ended up with a pile of garland tangled around his tiny body, making him look very silly.

"Um…a little help, please?" He asked with a tiny smile and suddenly Noodle and Destiny broke out laughing. They fell on the couch and held their stomachs, crying. "Yeah, funny and all, but I'm serious…!" 2D giggled and was picked up from the floor and unraveled.

"Well ain't you all having a Christmas bash?" Murdoc asked in a drunken daze from behind the couch. He was carrying a box full of deer parts so that they could re-construct them to be like reindeer. Noodle and 2D were shocked with wonder as to why he was in the same room as Destiny with that.

"No, just some fun while decorating," Destiny replied and jumped on the couch, kneeling so that she was face-to-face with Murdoc. "You smell like beer."

"Your face is beer," Murdoc retorted.

"Whatever. What's in the cardboard box? More beer?" Destiny asked before raiding it with both arms elbow deep. Then she pulled out an antler and threw it back, wide-eyed. "EW! That's disgusting, Murdoc!"

"Never said I wasn't."

"No, I know that- I mean, you've done gross stuff before, but never that! What the hell is going on? Tell me now, Murdoc! Tell me _NOW_!" Destiny freaked and panicked like never before.

2D and Noodle exchanged broken looks. They didn't know what to do now that Destiny was really freaking out about her being oblivious to the Christmas surprise. They didn't want to scare her, after all. The two gave up hope and felt they needed And if this was something that was going to make her mad at them for a long time and not enjoy the holidays, then it wasn't worth the secret.

"Okay, Deaftiny. Here's teh fing…" 2D began sadly. "It was originally gonna be a secret, but Murdoc-"

"-is dressing up his ol' Winne like one big Christmas extravaganza!" Murdoc finished while displaying gesticulatory. Just because alcohol blurred his decision-making, vision, etc., doesn't mean his dedication to plans such as this was waivered; further proof that Murdoc is insane for Destiny's happiness.

"What?" 2-D, Noodle, and Destiny said in unison.

"Of course! You with your preaching of Christmas cheer, Sandy Claus, - 'DECK the halls with boughs of holey!'- It tweaked a little something in my brain and now my heart ain't two sizes too small, or something, eh? Right?"

They were left gob smacked with the lie, until Destiny finally said, "Wait, so then you're putting real deer things in your house to celebrate?" Where this put Noodle and 2-D into a nail-biting frenzy.

"Of course! They gotta look authentic, don't they?" Murdoc lied.

"And 2D and Noodle are helping you?" She asked again.

"Of course! Who else is gonna hand me them hooks and wires, right?"

"And it was a secret from me?" Destiny asked with such sadness in her voice that everyone wanted to hug her and comfort her and tell Destiny that she was loved.

"Er, yeah. Otherwise you'd be bangin' on me door to help, or see, or whatever it is you'd do and go rompin' all over my Winnebago! Oi, runt!"

Destiny put a finger to her lip and thought again. She asked, "But aren't you a satani-"

"OI! DO YOU WANT ME TO CELEBRATE YOUR RUBBISH HOLIDAY OR NOT?"

"I do!" Destiny squealed and hugged Murdoc around the waist. "This makes me so happy! As long as you're celebrating, it doesn't matter to me if it's private or not! Merry Christmas, Murdoc!"

2D and Noodle released their held breathes. They were certain that they were blown and couldn't go on with the surprise. But luckily (and unluckily for me), 2D and Noodle were stopped by Murdoc's quick-thinking (omg!) and didn't ruin all the hard work and effort they were putting into the project by blabbering about it.

The mission was still a go-go!

* * *

It was a day away from Christmas and everyone was bustling to finish the last piece of their work. Now it seemed as though the project was split into two parts; The hard segment which consisted of actually building the reindeer over a wire frame with Russel, and the easy segment a.k.a. distracting Destiny. Obviously when it came to doing the days work, everyone opted to distract Destiny and have nothing to do with the bloody, sticky, fur pellets that once was deer. Sadly, that could not be done.

And then of course, Murdoc always seemed to be missing when it came to his turn to help Russel build, but he was always with the little girl, playing Christmas games or rocking out carols in the studio. For this, everyone was mad at him like the slacker in the office, but still gets the promotion for sucking up to the boss.

Of course, no one blamed Murdoc for doing what he did. Moving each piece of deerskin while Russel worked over them was smelly and tiring work. Work that required a shower immediately after. As the three were walking down the halls, 2D expressed this to Russel.

"I'm really glad we're finishin' tis up tonite," 2D complained while sniffing his shirt and crunching up his face in a disgusted way. "All tis labor is really killin' me. And makin' me smell. I'm a musician, after all, not a taxidermist!"

Russel rubbed a knot out of the back of his neck and when gone he held Noodle's ankle again. She rode atop Russel's shoulders with folded hands over his bald head. "I guess we can just wait until she falls asleep and set up the whole thing. At least that way we can spend time with Destiny." Russel sniffed. "And get a shower in."

"Where Murdoc?" Noodle asked then in poor English.

"I don' know. If he wosn't helping us, ten he must be wit Deaftiny." Then 2D mumbled with pulled eyebrows, "Ugly nob and his leavin' us to do teh easy work."

"Actually, he's gone to rest up for tonight. I don't really blame him either." Russel jumped his shoulders to move Noodle up more and prevent her from falling. It was quiet for a while.

"So…where is Deaftiny anyway?" 2D asked.

Then the group heard a smoke alarm and Russel dropped Noodle down and ran full speed with 2D to the kitchen at the end of the hall.

"What's going on?" Russel asked, having entered a room that was completely masked in black smoke.

"Sorry!" Destiny's apologetic voice came out of nowhere. She coughed and opened the balcony door so all the smoke could escape.

"Deaftiny?" 2D asked between his coughs. The alarm was going to give him a headache if he had to listen to it still, so he reached up and ran his fingers along the ceiling where he stood until he could poke the button to turn it off. "Are you okay?" He asked once it was off.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Holy-!" Russel exclaimed when the smoke cleared. The kitchen was a huge mess, starting with all the pots and pans taken out of the cupboards, broken egg shells, empty bottles, sacks of poured substances spilling onto the floor, powdered spots on the countertops from where flour was thrown, and ending with a pile of mile-high dishes in the sink that were once clean earlier this morning (Russel should know. He washed them) and everything- **_EVERYTHING_**- was covered in a yellowish looking batter. "_What. Happened?_" Russel asked through gritted teeth as his eyes finally landed on Destiny.

"I'm sorry," she apologized again in a sweet tone. But nobody was really mad or worried anymore once they saw Destiny.

She was wearing a dress where the top half was made of dark green velvet and from her waistline down it was a lighter green satin. Where the break in fabric was, was a belt made of flowers in browns, greens, and tans. She wore white stockings, too, that ended in brown little flats and a little headband with a flower arrangement that matched her belt. Her hair was cut shorter so she had trimmed bangs and a neat little bob.

**A dress taht is easily found if one googles green velvet child. Yeah. Links still hate me on **

"Wha-What are you wearing?" Russel asked while covering his smile with his hands, obviously proud of how cute she looked.

"When 2D and Noodle and I went shopping I bought this cause I want to look good for when Santa comes," Destiny answered, wiping away the excess flour on her apron. "Also Jamie and Damon are coming over."

"YOU LOOK SO PRECIOUS!" Russel squealed while running to Destiny and picked her up in his arms. He squeezed her tightly and spun her around with a huge smile.

2D stood from the doorway smiling a little crooked smile. He, too thought Destiny looked her cutest and secretly wished it was he who was spinning her in his arms. At this thought, 2-D blushed. He had to remind himself that Destiny was just a friend.

Russel put her down gently and suddenly bolted out of the room. "I'M GOING TO GET MY CAMERA! YOU STAY THERE!" He called down the hall in the same adorable tone.

2-D glanced Destiny over again and she spun a little twirl for him. "Very lovely, Love. Your fathar is right. You do look very precious."

Destiny blushed this time, "Why, thank you Stuart. All I wish now is for Santa to think the same."

2-D found inspiration from her and stepped to Destiny's small body. Bowing onto one knee, he pushed a single hair behind the headband and glided that finger across her chin. "I'm sure Santa is very proud of you," He said to her while looking in her eyes. "You're teh most beautiful girl in teh world, Deaftiny."

Destiny's face was now as red as an apple from both the compliments and how close 2D's face was to her's. "Th-th-th-thank you, 2D. That means a lot to me."

2D smiled and pulled her into a tight embrace. She wrapped her arms around his back and buried her face in her shoulder in such a way that 2D felt more and more affection for her. So much that he never wanted to loose her. "I'll be rite back, okay Love? I'm goin' to do sum last minute shoppin'. I'll see ya lata."

"Okay. Hurry back. It is Christmas Eve!" Destiny said with a smile. 2D smiled back and kissed the top of her head. She blushed a lot more again and 2D strode out of the room with a bit of speed as though he was on a mission. Destiny rubbed the top of her head and smiled and jumped around like a little fan girl.

"I've got my camera, sweetie!" Russel said, popping back in the room. "Let's move by the tree to make it more festive, okay?" He said, guiding his child out of the room. With one more glance around the kitchen he added, "By the way, what exactly were you doing in here?"

"I made cookies," Destiny said and pointed to the windowsill where four-dozen, perfectly made cookies were cooling. There was more than enough for the household. "Because Santa likes cookies."

Russel looked back down at his daughter with the same adorable smile. "YOU ARE SO CUTE!" He said, scooping her up in his arms again and brought her to the elevator.

* * *

While Damon and Jamie were leaving, Destiny fell asleep on the couch in the Tree Room. She snoozed away all night with a fire dying next to her and the plate of cookies and milk on the side table. At a quarter to midnight, the band started to make their move. Russel, Murdoc, and Noodle gathered outside the doorway, peeked in, and started planning.

"Where 2D?" Noodle asked while tapping her foot.

"It's okay, Noodle, we don't need him anymore. Now give me the costume so I can go change," Russel whispered holding out his hand.

"NO! MURDOC SANTA!" Noodle cried in a loud whisper.

"What? No! Murdoc can't be Santa, Noodle! He's too skinny! I'm Santa, remember?"

"Santa small on Russel!" Noodle said, holding up the outfit to Russel. It was indeed too small for him. However, a perfect fit for Murdoc to wear. "Murdoc fit Santa, so MURDOC SANTA!"

"Sh sh sh! Okay! Murdoc Santa, Murdoc Santa!" Russel whispered and Noodle stormed off, muttering something in Japanese. Had Destiny been there, she would translate that Noodle was complaining that she wasn't religious and thought religion was bad. "You set this up didn't you!" Russel asked Murdoc once he caught glimpse of his smirk.

"I have no clue what you're talking about, and by that I mean, yes," Murdoc smirked while stepping a foot into the red pants.

"But why do you want to be Santa? You don't even like Christmas let alone doing nice things for other people!" Russel pouted, disappointed. Then, he put two and two together, "Unless…you're doing it because you secretly like Destiny and want to make her happy just as much as the rest of us do…!"

"Nope. Still about me." Murdoc said, wagging a finger around his face as though to point out he's the center of attention.

"How?"

Murdoc's face became serious. "Because, when I yelled at the runt at the magazine thing, this huge _guilt _thing started weighing me down. I _HATE IT_! So, if I do something to balance all that negative mojo, then it'll go away and I'll feel like my badass self again, right?" Murdoc concluded, zipping up the front of the suit and sticking on the hat. He looked just like a white-haired, pot-bellied, crocked-nosed Santa. "How do I look? Does it make my arse look fantastic?"

Russel's half-lit eyes glared him down. "Beautiful. _Now_ can we do this?" Murdoc nodded and they split ways.

* * *

Russel snuck into the room and turned off the gas that lit the fake fire and hid in the closet in the room. Then with a remote control he started the tape that was attached to the sleigh outside the window and started moving the reindeer so that it looked like they were alive.

*Ho, ho, ho! Meeeeeeerry Christmas!*

Destiny's head lifted instantly when she heard that and ran to the window. There in the night was the silhouette of Santa's sleigh! Her heart raced with excitement! "Can it be…?" She whispered to herself in disbelief. She was so ecstatic!

Meanwhile, Murdoc and Noodle, who were a floor above where the top of the "chimney" was were prepping him with the bag of toys and fixing his beard one final time before Murdoc went slipping down the vent and landed in the room behind Destiny. She was too distracted by looking outside that she didn't notice his entrance.

"Oooo! Cookies!" Murdoc said in a schmoozing tone and slithered to the table, grabbed a cookie and the glass of milk, and gulped down the whole thing.

Destiny heard him munch behind her back and slowly turned around. There he stood, the fake Santa, and her eyes widened. "S-S-S-Santa?"

"Ho! Ho! Ho! Hello, Destiny Hobbs!" Murdoc said in the deepest voice he could manage while throwing his arms out.

Destiny's mouth dropped. "You know my name…?"

"Of course I do! I'm Santa Claus! Ho! Ho! Ho! I know _every_ little girl's and boy's name! Ho! Ho! Hoooooo!"

*Easy with the Ho's, St. Nick,* Russel said to him in the tiny earpiece he wore.

"Oh, shut up." He mumbled back to him.

"What was that, Santa?"

"Eh? Oh, nothing!" Murdoc said, faltering in his deep voice accent for a second.

Destiny noticed and ignored the slight waver. "I've been waiting to meet you all my life, Mr. Claus. My manager, Mr. Martoche, said that I never would get to meet you because I've always been naughty."

"Ah, Mr. Martoche!" Murdoc said in an over-exaggerated tone of disgust. "He's been on my naughty list ever since he was born! I'll give him excrements amounts of lead this year!"

"Lead?" Destiny asked, truly confused.

*Coal!* Russel corrected him in the earpiece. *Coal! Naughty kids get coal! How do you not know that?*

"The hell do I know? I'm a Satanist!" Murdoc mumbled angrily back into the earpiece while glaring at the closet.

"What was that, Mr. Claus?"

Murdoc looked down at Destiny and coughed really loud as to cover up what he just said. "Oh nothing, dear little Destiny! Just a chest cold! I've been out all night, you know!" Murdoc patted Destiny's shoulder, leading her to the couch to sit down. "Anyway, of course I'll be giving that mean manager of your's a lot of coal. Again! But enough about him, why don't we see what you're getting for Christmas, eh?"

"Sure, Santa!" Destiny said with a big smile and turned to the doorway. "But first I want to go get my friends Russel, 2D, Murdoc, and Noodle. I can't wait for you to meet them all!"

"NO!" Murdoc screamed after her in his normal voice, causing her to turn around, shocked again. "I mean, er, not now, er, little candy cane…! They're all sleeping and you wouldn't want to make them mad by waking them, right?" he fibbed uneasily.

Destiny smiled with sympathy. "Well they would be mad usually, but this is special so it's okay!" Then she spun around and ran to the door again.

"DESTINY NO! COME BACK!" Murdoc yelled again in his normal croaky tone.

*Stay in character, Muds!*

"Not now, tubby!" Murdoc said in a normal tone in the earpiece.

At that moment the door flew open and 2D stood in the archway with a small gift in his hands. He glanced from Destiny to the fake Santa and became very confused. "Uh…wot's goin' on?"

"2D! Look! It's Santa Claus! It's really him!" Destiny said, pulling on his sleeve.

2-D didn't move and instead squinted at the Santa. "Who're you?"

"Why, I'm Santa!" Murdoc said and then mumbled threateningly, "You little half-wit!"

"No you're not," 2D said bluntly. "I mean, wasn't Russel supposed to be Santa?"

"What are you talking about 2-D? It's really Santa! He came down the chimney and everything! See? There's his sled!" Destiny said, dragging him across the room to look out the window.

*What's going on out there?*

"The half-wit's ruining it! What the hell should I do?" Murdoc asked into the radio.

*Just play it off! Bring her back to the presents!*

Destiny shrieked then and stumbled backwards, covering her mouth in sheer terror. "OH MY GOD! A PIECE OF THE DONNER'S FLESH FELL OFF! WHAT DO WE DO? WHAT DO WE DO?"

The scream went into Murdoc's mic and directly in Russel's earpiece, causing him to jump and accidentally hit the remote control.

*Ho, ho, ho! Meeeeeeerry Christmas!* *Ho, ho, ho! Meeeeeeerry Christmas!* *Ho, ho, ho! Meeeeeeerry Christmas!*

"Make that thing shut up!" Murdoc whispered into his earpiece.

*I can't! It's stuck!* Russel whispered back as he messed with the control.

"Santa? What's going on?" Destiny asked, panic-stricken.

"Er…" Murdoc realized that the track and he were both talking at the same time, which was a mere impossibility. "Ho, ho, ho! Meeeeeeery Christmas!" He suddenly found himself repeating as though it was him saying it all along.

Then the door flew open again and Noodle stood there. She sniffed the air and her eyes darted around the room until they landed on the plate of cookies. "COOKIES!" She screamed and dove across the room in the direction of "Santa".

"No, Noodle!" Murdoc screamed before she crashed into him. The cookies and milk spilt over the two of them and 2D cringed at the horrible collision and Destiny covered her eyes. They fell to the ground in a mess of limbs. The crash was so enormous that the vibrations shook the ground outside (as any cartoon does), causing the tape to stop playing. Everything went still.

When Destiny looked up again, she gasped at Santa for the milk had unstuck the glue to the costume and Murdoc's face was revealed. "Murdoc?" She gasped. Then, the closet door opened. Russel stood there to see what happened, remote in hand and all. Destiny turned around and gasped again. "Russel?" She turned around for a final time and opened the curtains to the window, revealing the car-looking sled and wire-frame under the Donner model. "Guys…I don't understand …You tricked me?"

2D walked with slumped shoulders over to the light switch and the room was illuminated. "We're sorry, Deaftiny."

Destiny looked from him to Russel, obviously the leader-figure in the whole thing. "We didn't mean anything by it…it's just, you were so into the whole Christmas idea, so I wanted to keep the spirit of Santa alive by setting this up…I'm sorry. We all are."

Destiny's eyes looked all around the room and then she gave a small sigh and met each of her band mate's gaze. "It's okay, guys. I knew it was a hoax all along anyway."

Everyone's mouths dropped to the floor. "WHAT?"

"Yeah. I kind of knew Santa wasn't real, so…"

"Wha- Who told you?" Murdoc asked angrily.

"Well you guys were kind of acting strange lately. Well…more strange anyway. That, and Jamie did. Today when he was over. He explained the whole fakeness of the holiday, but I guess I didn't tell you guys because I really didn't want to believe him," Destiny smiled with a sad undertone. "But I really appreciate the effort you must have put into it because it was really well thought out and stuff. Thanks you guys. This is the best Christmas ever!"

Even though the Gorillaz's plan failed, wasn't that the whole goal anyway? To give Destiny the best holiday season in her whole life? So it was mission accomplished for all of them and they each felt satisfied with their job well done.

Destiny walked over to the piano and started playing while she sang, "_Hark the herald angels sing, 'Glory to the newborn King! Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled'_"And soon everyone else gathered around and joined in.

********

…Except for Murdoc who rudely interrupted, "FOR CHRIST'S SAKE, PEOPLE! IT'S CHRISTMAS MOTHERFUCKIN' MORNIN, THERE'S A SACK OF GOODS RIGHT FUCKIN' THERE, AND YOU'RE ALL JUST GONNA SING? LET'S OPEN OUR DAMN PRESENTS ALERADY!"

Everyone blinked and exchanged glances, until Destiny said, "Yeah, he's right. LET'S GO OPEN PRESENTS!" And everyone dove into the bag and took out their respective presents.

* * *

As the author, I'm only going to narrate for my character. Destiny bought everyone just what they wanted: Noodle, a new radio-controlled airplane; Murdoc, a bottle of expensive and finely-aged wine; Russel, a handmade sweater that read "World's Best Dad"…

And for 2D…

"Open it, 2D, open it! I know you're going to love it!"

2D smiled at Destiny and pulled off the last of the wrapping paper. He held a box, and inside that box was another box; A music box. And when he opened the music box, a little bed of steel combs started chiming a metallic version of the chorus to the song "Slow Country". There was also a picture of 2D and Destiny from the hospital from when she was seven and he was eighteen on the bottom of the lid.

"When I took out my jacket for the winter, I found that in the pocket," Destiny explained.

"You mean teh jacket you wore when I found you unconscious?" 2D asked with a enormous and toothy smile.

"Uh huh! And since you and I worked on that song together, I kind of thought it was like our song. So I had a music box made of it and put it in this. So now when you have a headache or you miss me at night, you can play this and not feel so bad." Destiny said with a sheepish and shy smile.

2D hugged her tightly and when he let go, he gave her his present. "Here ya go! Tis is tat ting I had to run out fo today, er…I mean yesterday."

The little blue-wrapped box held the friendship necklace that Destiny loved so much in the mall and she flitted with joy when she held the necklace now. "2-D, it's perfect! I absolutely love it, thank you!" She hugged his neck tightly and broke off to examine it again. The jewel in the middle was an amethyst, a purple stone that resembles the month of February; the month 2D and Destiny met so long ago.

When she looked up, 2D reached down his shirt and pulled out a matching one. "Because we're best friends. Forever and ever…"

Destiny nodded. "Forever and ever, 2D!"

"Oh my God, guys!" Russel suddenly said. "Look outside!"

Everyone ran to the window, looked, and then ran outside. At least two feet of snow already fell and the tiny flakes were still spinning all around.

"It's a Christmas miracle!" Destiny screamed, dressed in her nice outfit still and running out to jump in a large pile. Then 2D, dressed in his pajamas jumped after her, and then Noodle. They all started playing in the snow, soon throwing snowballs at Murdoc.

"**'EY!**" Murdoc screamed and stormed into the snow to chase after them all and throw snowballs back at them, screaming threats in his croaky voice. Russel walked out smiling and stared off into town. There was more snow falling on Kong mountain than anywhere else. A small shiver went up his spine and he looked back at Destiny and 2D and Noodle and Murdoc. And with a final childish gesture, fell back in the even bed of snow in his basketball shorts and sweater and made a snow angel.

And at one thirty am, the Gorillaz played in the snow at Kong Studios.

********

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!


	19. Chapter 19

**RECAP: Last chapter was the Christmas Special! yay! It's basically a very one-shot kind of thing and the longest chapter so far. That's all.**

**Me: So I finally finished Chapter 19. -.- I was very lazy over break. This took the longest and most detail to write because it's special. Well...all my chapters are special, but this has a little extra something ;) Enjoy thankies!**

**Oh ya, and this chapter includes an OC that my very special friend has created who's name is Yoyo. ^-^**

**I'm still looking for more OCs for this story too. The more the merrier! If you would like to share your Original Character with me and have him/her meet Destiny and band in some special way/shape/form, see details at my deviantart account gogorillazgone, or pop me a message here, or e-mail me at ...thanks!**

**Oh yeah, and for X-Mas I got a scanner so I can put better pics of Destiny on the interweb for y'all to see. =D So keep an eye for that on my deviantart too ;)**

**Okay onto the story (HAPPY 2011!)**

**

* * *

**

It's been a long while since I last updated you on everyone, so I'll kind of tell you now and get it out of the way since nothing exciting happened for the next three months, anyway.

2D and I are the closest of friends. As for my crush, it hasn't gone away yet, but it will. He says I'm his most special girl and that makes me happy- although I roll my eyes whenever he says so anyway- but it still causes even the most tiniest of sparks to shoot through me and touch my heart. And I'm trying to avoid sleeping in his bed at night, because I'm growing up and I gave him the music box to calm him at night so I don't have to.

Russel still concerns me with his new drinking habit. There has never been a great time to ask him about it either, though I will eventually. I've never seen him drunk like Murdoc- who tromps about proudly- but I have seen him in and out of the kitchen with a beer in hand. I guess that doesn't mean he's an angry drunk like Murdoc. I'm still worried out of my head, though.

Noodle, even though we don't see eye-to-eye on everything, is the closest thing to a sibling I have now. We eat breakfast in the café together and swap languages when we address certain things and at night we write songs and jam in her or my room. Lately, I've been doing yoga and other morning rituals to increase my flexibility with Noodle as she teaches me jujitsu and other karate-like activates. She's much better at me than it, though, and I'm quickly gaining strength and other gymnastic skills too.

Murdoc has been Murdoc, and we are still the same as ever; Hard-shelled on the outside, niceness on the in. He's still an ass to me with his constant pranks and insults, but there's also a certain kindness in his actions too. Only towards me though. I don't really read into it, however.

Early one morning, Noodle and I were on the roof and Murdoc crawled out after us. "What in Sam's Hell are you two doing up here?" He demanded.

"What ever do you mean, Mudsy?" I asked, not looking at him as I called him the new childish name.

His eyes widened with rage and one twitched. "_Mudsy?_" He questioned with clenched fists at his sides, red-faced, and steam coming out of his ears.

I looked at him, me being dressed in baggy pain-covered sweats that were probably from 2D's room, and smiled. "Yeah, it's your new nickname. That…I…just invented…" I decided at the last minute. "Anyway, Look! We're spray-painting on the walls! It's an art that 2-D had gotten me interested in when we spoke of our childhood," I said, pointing to the outside wall of my room where- scrawled in red- was "Gorillaz" written out in a fancy script. "See? It's the band name!"

Murdoc looked from the wall to us and rolled his eyes, smacking his forehead. "Okay. The two of you. Stop screwing around. I need to show you something and it's very important that I get your opinion."

Murdoc never asks for anybody's opinion, so this obviously had to be important. "Is it about the music video that we _should have_ worked on for Jamie to look at?"

Murdoc rolled his eyes and waved a dismissive hand. "Oh please. We still have 'til the beginning' of March to do that."

"It's March _now_, Murdoc," I said in an utter serious tone. "You're the one that's always talking about ruling the world with our music; so why aren't you forcing us to work like you usually do?" I asked, putting away some of the spray cans and helping Noodle with the large tarp.

"Because," Murdoc said, holding open the glass window/door for us while we climbed down like a gentleman. "Procrastination is a wonderful virtue. Now let's go. This is very important."

Murdoc took us to the lobby. Between the two elevator doors there was a jukebox with a skeleton doll printed on the front. It was yellow and purple and there was a little screen on the top where you could pick the album you wanted to listen to and see a selection of what was inside.

"So?" I asked.

"I wonder; does it look good here? Or should I move it to the back wall and make it a focal?" Murdoc put his thumb and forefinger out, resting his chin in the space in between.

I rolled my eyes. "Mudsy, you're a rock star. Not an interior decorator. Besides, it looks fine." I heard Murdoc growl at the name behind me and ultimately ignored it. Then I bent over the machine and pressed a button. The screen turned on. "Oh cool, it's already uploaded…!" Flipping through the music, my face fell more and more until it became one of flat out annoyance. "There's only Gorillaz music here, Murdoc."

"So?"

My face stayed the way it was as I straightened myself out and sighed. "Okay, seriously, let's just start the music video. Jamie will probably come later today for our ideas since today is the deadline."

"Relaaaax." Murdoc was already sprawled out on the couch in the lobby. Both of his eyes were closed. "We'll do it later," He sighed.

"Well is there anything you want to do _now_? Like choose what song the single will be, or-"

"_Sleep_?" Murdoc suggested, getting comfortable again. Noodle was already sitting on the armchair with a videogame in hand. Russel and 2D were still sleeping and playing pong, respectively. I sighed and looked around for something to do.

A short while later, the doorbell rang. I looked at the two but nobody stirred. The doorbell rang again. Murdoc sighed in annoyance. "Oh, no Mudsy, please, I _insist_ on getting the door. Don't even bother." He didn't care for the sarcastic undertone. I opened the door and saw no one. Searching right and left, it was still a normal sunny day with no one around. Then I looked to my feet.

And saw a corpse on the doorstep!

* * *

I screamed at the top of my lungs until I realized it was really dead. Then a bored, un-amused look took place on my once fear-filled face.

I examined it. A male with brown hair. His eyes were closed which made me feel better. I couldn't stand it when the eyes still stared back at you or into the oblivion. Possibly once staring at the killer as he fell. He wasn't decomposing yet, but flies had already gathered. He wore a tie and fancy khaki pants with a nice shirt. Probably a businessman. He was shot in the diaphragm. A slow and painful killing.

"Murdoc!" I called. He wouldn't be happy. "We have another one! He's dead."

"Again?" He yelled back and got off the couch with a huff. "What are we; the friggin' dump!"

I looked at him with an obvious look then gestured to the garbage dump Kong is built around.

"Right…well…you gonna search him?"

"Ew, no! You do it!" Murdoc looked at me, rolled his eyes, and bent over to pat down the body. He searched both of his pockets, his wrists, and teeth. Then the collars and shoes. "Anything good?" I asked, arms crossed, and leaning against the doorway.

Murdoc rose to his feet to show me his findings. "A watch, 28 pounds, and a picture of his nice lady friend…that sells for something, right?" Murdoc had an evil, seductress look in his eye.

"Sure, whatever. Can we get him away from our front door now before he makes a puddle?" I asked, taking his feet in my hands.

Murdoc grabbed under his shoulders and sighed. "Dump? Or graveyard?"

"Surprise me."

Murdoc thought. "I'm feeling pretty nasty today." So off to the garbage heap we went. He wasn't too hard to carry, but the smell was really bad.

We walked to the very edge and swung the body while chorusing "One, two, three." and down the body went to the trash. We dusted our hands off and I looked down. "Poor guy," I said in his honor. "I wonder if he was hit off by the mafia like the last guy."

"Yeah, I wonder…" Murdoc said, apathetically and lit a cigarette. "We should really put a sign up. Or an add in the newspaper."

"Oh, Murdoc, we should've buried it this time. He could've had a wife or a whole family or something. I mean, it's not a long walk down to the graveyard, we could've easily walked down there and give him a nice place to rest. Suddenly Murdoc's face lit up without my noticing and he ran to the other side of Kong Mountain. "What? Hey!" I followed along and looked over the edge with him. It faced the graveyard. "What?" I asked, out if breath. "Did you see something?"

"Not some_thing_, landlubber…" Murdoc said with a heavy and fake pirate accent, turning his head dangerously slow with a Joker grin in my direction. "But some_place_. And that place is the perfect setting for a music video ghost story!"

"Okay…why the accent?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "Gives it dramatic effect, I guess."

* * *

_I was in the lobby again, doing nothing on my laptop. Then a quick flash ran across the screen. I jumped. It happened again in my eyes. Than an unknown force pulled me to the front door. The flashes were occurring more rapidly and more vividly making a face that I could barely make out._

_Around the front door, a white light flickered and through the cracks, they looked like lightning flashes. I was very afraid to open the door, but I was forced to by something beyond me. I touched the handle and pulled it down. Then threw it towards me. What lay outside was something very different than the scene originally presented to me earlier that day. The sky was dark green and swirling around Kong Studios. The town was nowhere in sight. Lightning did flash in the distance and thunder followed after. The ground was tinted purple in color and cracked at the edges._

_Then the laughter started. It was quiet at first, then it grew louder and louder. The flashes in my mind started again like static pulsing through me. Something was amiss. A rotten smell came to me and I looked at my feet._

_There was a dead body. It wasn't just any body, though. It was a rotting, decayed, and torn Russel who's white eyes stared into mine._

_The laughter erupted now and the flash was now clear. It was Del's blue face, with a ghoulish smile and haunting eyes. He killed Russel._

_I screamed louder than I ever did as the spirit overcame my own body and killed me._

_

* * *

_

I burst out of bed with beads of sweat going down my face. "A dream," I whispered in the night. "It was just a bad dream." I noticed how labored my breathing was and decided some crisp, cold air would do me good. So, I jumped out of bed, climbed up to the glass dome, and stepped out. Still being in my cotton T-shirt and nylon sweatpants, I was chilled a little from the cold wind. Even though it was now March, it was still very cold at night. The town was deserted, and only a few lights were on that I guessed was the street lamps. But upon further gazing, I saw a huge light source coming from the graveyard.

"Eh?" I asked myself, straining my eyes to see. There was a huge gathering of people and machines and other movie set-like objects that I couldn't see. "Murdoc will probably know what's going on. I should go ask him…and stop talking to myself." I decided and started for the ladder.

**BOOM! ZIIIIIIP!**

The sound emitted from behind me and I jumped out of my skin in shock. "WHAT THE-?" It was a large grapple hook that attached itself to the wall of Kong! And there was a thick rope attached; thick enough for a person to climb up it without much trouble. Which is what I heard when the person strained to climb over the ledge of the building.

It was a girl. A woman to be more precise. She was about a head taller than me and her hair fell in her face. It was purple, too, like 2D's. Her eyes were grey, which gave her a very creepy appearance. But I was surprised to see her in a cartoon appearance. She wore a red jacket that was very sharp on her and brown gloves covered her hands. And her jeans were covered by brown fuzzy boots with red zippers (much like her jacket).

I was hiding behind the glass dome that wasn't my room as she walked onto the roof further. The stranger cupped her hands around her eyes so she can gaze into the windows of my room and I wondered if she was possibly looking for me.

Cautious still, I asked her, "Ar-Are you a robber…?" while lifting myself from my hiding spot.

The woman pulled away from the glass, apparently surprised, and laughed aloud. "Not right now I'm not." My heart skipped a beat. "I'm just looking for a girl named Destiny Hobbs."

I stood right away and said, "I'm Destiny Hobbs. Can I help you?"

The woman pressed a button on the wire connected to her headset and said into it, "I found Destiny. I'll bring her down soon." Then she turned to me again with kind eyes. "I'm working on the set for the music video and I was sent up here to get you. My name is Yoyo."

"I'm Destiny…" I said automatically, still stuck on the music video bit. "You said there was a music video? Is that what's going on in the graveyard?"

"Yeah, didn't you know?"

"No."

"Oh…well, go get dressed!" Yoyo said with a delighted smile and pointed to the open hatch to my room. "Do you mind?"

I was still stuck on the fact that there was a music video and soon I actually shook myself back to reality from my thought-process. "WHY WERE YOU CLIMBING UP THE SIDE OF KONG LIKE THAT?"

Yoyo laughed. "I didn't climb. I grappled." She then held out a Batman-looking gun that shot the grapple in the first place. "It's a prop from the new Batman movie. I wanted to test if it really works…it does."

I pointed at it with my mouth agape. "You stole that? But- but- but- but stealing is wrong!"

"I didn't steal it. I'm _borrowing_ it!" Yoyo corrected and gestured to the hatch again. "So, do you still mind?"

I shook off the shock and started towards the door to my room. "No, let's go." She climbed down first and then I followed after her. As Yoyo snooped around my room, I quickly changed into something warm and fashionably correct. In other words, a short-sleeved purple hoodie, jeans, and my famous hat from my brother. I locked the door after I walked out with Yoyo- through the front door this time- and as we were winding down the mountain of Kong, I asked her, "So…do you know what song we're going to be playing?"

"Nope," She popped when she said the 'pe'. It was quiet for a while as we continued down and it was awkward. Something told me that we were going to be best friends if only we said stuff to each other! "Hey, do you know that greasy green guy with the inverted cross?" She asked suddenly.

"Er…yeah, his name is Murdoc. Why?"

Yoyo nodded contemplatively and announced, "He was hitting on me."

I rolled my eyes, "Don't feel special, hun. Murdoc hits on anyone within a five mile radius of him."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. My roommate is trying to do the same. But he's a real hobo, if you ask me," Yoyo joked smiling at the thought.

I laughed and jumped for joy. "Yeah! Murdoc's a total pack-rat! It's beyond me how he gets the girls he does!"

We laughed and joked about it the rest of the way down and walked straight onto the set without even realizing it. It was much colder down in the graveyard then at Kong, so I had to blow in my hands a few times to keep my fingers from numbing up. Murdoc was standing with 2D and Noodle in a group around the set and we walked right into them. Actually, I did.

"Oh!" I exclaimed, bumping into Murdoc. "Sorry, Mudsy. Didn't see you there."

Murdoc glared at me and looked to Yoyo. Throwing an arm around her shoulders, he said, "'as she been buggin' you?"

"No, Mr. Nicalls." Yoyo rolled her eyes and pushed his hand off, suddenly professional. "You sent me to get her, remember?"

"No, I don't." Murdoc retorted, eyeing her. "I was pretty drunk at the time, but I can go grab a drink again, if you want."

I ignored him and looked at 2D and Noodle. "Where's Russel?"

2D and Noodle nodded to the drum set that was in the center of the white set where all the lights and cameras were pointed towards. I started toward him while calling his name when the floor under me suddenly started to move towards the left.

"Eh?" I inquired nobody in particular as I was forced to move around Russel in a wide circumference. "Russel! What's happening?"

"And cut it!" A director-figure shouted and the floor stopped moving. I looked at the guy then at Russel and continued to go to him.

"Russel, are you okay?"

He looked at me slowly. His eyes were heavy and laced with lifelessness. As though he was ready to collapse. When he smiled at me, he looked like a zombie. "Hello, child."

"Russel, what's happening? You don't look so good."

"I'm just tired and my head is really pounding."

I decided that Russel had taken this too far and I was going to have to take care of him. "Murdoc! We're going to the hospital right now!"

The director-figure screamed over me and then Yoyo started talking to everyone in her little earpiece and people started scrambling to their cameras and lights and Noodle and 2D and Murdoc ran towards us.

"Guys, what's happening?" I asked Murdoc, who was coming towards me.

He grabbed my arm, and painlessly twisted it in to follow him in his direction. "You and I need to talk, now." He pulled me a little ways from the rest of the people so we were out of earshot. Then he turned me around and got on one knee to be at my height.

"Murdoc; something's wrong with Russel, we have to get him help!" I informed him, but Murdoc shushed me.

"It's okay, he'll be fine. I know he will," Murdoc said calmly while looking into my eyes. Something about the way it was said made me believe him. "We're going to shoot a music video, but I don't know exactly what's going to happen or what song is going to be in the video. I just want to make sure that this is done, but above all, you need to listen to me now because I'm telling you exactly what I said to Noodle; if anything dangerous happens to me or you or anyone here, I want you to run as fast as you can _away_ from the set and Kong Studios. Go to a safe place across the street and call for help, and then wait for us there. Do you understand me? I want you_ safe_ tonight."

Murdoc was so serious; so sweet. The way he said it made me feel protected and cared for. This was obviously the side of Murdoc that nobody was allowed to see. I wondered how Noodle reacted to it. All I could do was just nod. Murdoc nodded back and lifted himself up again, running to the set. I snapped myself back to my senses and trotted after him. The director was counting down and calling out for 'Lights, camera, action!' kind of stuff. I swung the guitar strap over my head and readied my hands to play any song that Murdoc said we were going to play. With a final glance to the rotating floor (to make sure I was standing in the middle of it and wouldn't fall off the strip when it spun) and a worried one to Russel, I nodded to Murdoc.

"Okay!" He ordered. "First, Punk! Then, Clint Eastwood! And _nobody_ stop playing until I do!" He counted us off and so we began.

* * *

**I'm bad at these...um...I tried to make it as little songfic-ish as I could, andas wikipedia-esk as I could, and with as little Destiny emotion and POV as I could. So please don't judge...actually please do, then tell me what could be improved upon =D **

**Clint Eastwood Music Video**

The video starts on a black background. 'Gorillaz' is scrawled out in red ink like the way I wrote on the wall with a quote underneath from Dawn of the Dead; First in Japanese, then English. 2D and I are singing in the background as Murdoc laughs evilly as the camera fades out to a close-up on his face.

Russel bashes on his cymbals four times and the rotating platform starts spinning us and reveals Noodle, then me, then 2-D. He starts singing and the camera showcases Noodle behind him, nodding along as she strummed. The shot swings to 2-D's right and Murdoc is staring into the camera, fingering his bass against the singer's silhouette. The camera swings for a final time to 2D's left and I'm standing next to 2D, playing the keyboard part of my keytar, expressionless. I mindlessly chew on my pick, awaiting for something to happen, tired as hell.

A "poof" sound emits from behind us, but we don't turn to look. The black clouds cover us from above. Russel's hat floats up…and Del wears it now!

He starts rapping and disappearing and reappearing in front of the camera. Murdoc stopped playing, obviously not recalling what he said before about the rest of us not playing once he stops playing, so we all stopped playing also. We were al awed as Del stepped out of Russel's head and stepped over us. The camera catches this; focused on 2D and I in one shot and Murdoc and Noodle in the other with mouth agape and hand shielding her eyes, respectively.

Suddenly, Del takes a leap and bounds over us all, but the landing causes a massive quake and the ground splits by a red glow. 2D is unaffected as it goes right between his feet. I, however, tripped over my feet trying to avoid and fell to my butt. Murdoc frowned at me off-screen.

Where I fell, a large tombstone grew quickly. I was soared into the air a good story until it stopped growing and tilted. I struggled to stay on. The rest of my band mates watched as- not only that one grow- but more that scattered around the set. Falling rock and broken pieces were among the band now as Del rose into the sky and finished rapping.

2D's silhouette was shown singing again as the chorus played. How he stayed so calm is beyond me…

It started to rain and thunder and lightning as the camera 360ed to show that. I am still stuck on the first tombstone. I took out my harmonica to lead 2D in the song (and calm my nerves) so that maybe I could jump back down to the ground before I crumbled to the ground with the marker.

A tower rose to my feet. I stepped down. Then to the next and the next, finally dropping to the ground next to 2D. By now he was finishing singing.

The camera zoomed out more and more to a scene where a purple fuzzy monkey arm reached up and lightning struck in the distance. Close by, a gorilla hand broke out of the ground and grabbed Murdoc's privates. With a groan, he fell to the ground, bottom first, much like I had before.

Concerned, I completely forgot about the video. I forgot about the filming, the song, and running to across the street as he told me to before. All I cared about was that Murdoc was hurt; and I needed to go to him. Just as I started to break out in a run for him, another gorilla hand reached up, grabbed my hood, and sunk back into the ground much like the prior had to Murdoc's nuts. With both the speed of the arm grabbing me and my force pushing forward, my head hit the ground with a loud snapping sound.

And I blacked out.

* * *

When I awoke, the song wasn't over. The music video was still being filmed and Del was still rapping the second verse. He was singing the line "_Now_ _I'm sucked into your lives/through Russel- not his muscle- but percussion he provides_"; a lyric I never understood. Russel and 2D were as they were, but Murdoc was up and running from the gorillas. But the purple beasts weren't chasing him; they were dancing!

I originally thought Noodle ran across the graveyard for help, but she too had not listened to Murdoc and was actually skipping around with the brightest and biggest smile plastered on her face. What was going through her head was also beyond me.

I knew I had to put a stop to this video, but how? What could I do? Maybe clues were planted in the song so I could figure out what Del's weakness was or something. Then it hit me; the lyric that I didn't understand was actually telling us how Del came to this world in the first place: Through Russel's drumming! I knew in order to stop the madness, I had to wake Russel up.

Meanwhile, the video was taping Murdoc as he glared at the gorillas and the gorillas glared back. I took the time to turn on my heel and ask 2D if he would help me wake Russel. He was spacey as 2D stared at one grey cloud that caught his eye.

Before I could even utter a word, something whispered between us two coupled with a blue, digital-like glow. A shiver went up my back and I froze still.

"_That it's all in you're head!_"

Bravely, I turned my head but it disappeared. 2D's and my eyes met. I turned away, blushing.

2D was back at the mic in the next screenshot, singing the chorus for the last time as the zombie gorillas marched in the background, much like they had throughout the video. I played the rising keyboard part and the song was constantly being switched between 2D and I, and Noodle skipping in the graveyard. She encountered one angry gorilla, meeting it's red eyes, but with a swift kick to the jaw, it disappeared.

Angered by this, Del folds his arms and shrinks back into Russel's head. 2D and I watch. Russel comes to life again as Murdoc and Noodle re-group. The song fades as rays of sunlight break through the clouds and birds begin to tweet. I'm left standing next to 2-D, darting my head to Russel and the clouds and- convinced the danger was over- finally the camera in almost ominous slow motion.

The end of the video introduces each band member's name coupled with a scene from the video as follows:

2-D with Del behind him,

Noodle joyously skipping around the graves,

Russel awakening from his coma, drool and all,

Murdoc glaring at the apes with a shadow over his eyes, making him look extra creepy,

And me, waking from unconsciousness after hitting my head on the ground- blood dripping down my neck and all.

**End!**

* * *

"Cool," I said, matter-of-factly from my spot in 2D's lap on the couch. The Clint Eastwood video just finished premiering on MTV and we had all gathered in a random TV room to watch our finished project. This was a few weeks later. Russel was fine now that Del came and went the way he did. I resolved that he was just the cause of his headaches and Russel would drink the constant annoyance away. Now I only hoped he would just stay in his head and leave Russel alone. On one level or another, Del scared me.

"It was a great video, but…I just can't believe how much I missed." Russel was shaking his head, mind-boggled. "And you got hurt, too, Destiny. I'm sorry I wasn't there to take care of you."

I was interested in the way he used 'he was not there' when he described the video since he was, in fact, present. All the same, I shrugged, "It wasn't too bad." and as I did, I felt the back of my head where my head had cracked. Immediately after the video, some EMS on stand-by at the set checked out where the impact was. Luckily my skull wasn't broken; The cracking sound was simply from the two hard surfaces colliding the way it did. However there was still bleeding and dirt stuck in the wound so my head was bandaged. One would surely bet that since the filming I've been my hat on 24/7 in sheer self-consciousness of the gauze still wrapped around my cranium. "The only real thing you missed was Murdoc when he got his sac _squeezed _by an animal," I snickered, both changing the subject and out of pure spite.

"Shut up!" Murdoc squeaked at me from his armchair, in a high-pitched and shrill voice. He's been like that since the shoot, but it still cracked us all up. "That monkey had a death grip! My balls are still the size of coconuts! Big purple coconuts!"

We chuckled a little more and I rolled my eyes. "TMD, Muds."

"TMD?" 2D asked, bouncing his knee a little to get my attention. His arms were loosely around me, refusing to let go. He felt somewhat guilty that I was hurt and bled in his presence even though I said it was okay a thousand times…literally.

"Yeah, you know. Too Much Detail."

"TMI!" Noodle corrected, sitting between Russel and 2-D. She appeared biased of the whole shoot as though it never even happened.

Russel rubbed his forehead. "It's TMI, Dest'. As in Too Much Information."

"Ha!" Murdoc laughed, falling back in his seat. We all giggled under our breath. "Stop laughing!"

**March 5th, 2001: ****'Clint Eastwood' single released**

**March 11th, 2001: ****'Clint Eastwood' enters charts peaking at Number 3**

_

* * *

_

I was in bed. The covers were pulled tightly around me, however in the sickish green sky that seemed to glow from the skylight, I could see another form laying in the bed with me. I pulled the covers off the both of us and saw a body bag.

_My heart froze. My breath seemed to quicken as I reached to the zipper and pulled it down to his collarbone; again the other force making me._

_Inside was a corpsed version of Stuart Pot, who looked as though all life had been stolen from his body. His hair lost it's purple color and was replaced with a grey-ish tint, and his eyes were sunken in to the point where you could see inside his head. Wrinkles were all over his face and his mouth hung slightly ajar in a twisted frown. He was more pale than usual. And the corpse was more decayed than the last one._

_My hands flew to my mouth, both to cover a scream and prevent myself from vomiting, but I wouldn't move away; My body wouldn't allow it. Then slowly, the head of the carcass turned towards me in an almost agonizingly slow way._

"_Why did you let this happen to me?" His voice ghoulishly echoed after each word. "Why did you let it come after me? I thought you loved me…?" The voice sounded like 2D, too. Which made it all the more frightening and hurtful._

* * *

"**NO!" **I screamed, bolting out of bed. This time I was crying along with the cold sweat. I dried my tears and darted my eyes to the other side of my bed.

The spot was empty.

I was breathing at a rapid pace as I tried to shake the dead image of 2D from my mind. 'It was just a dream. It couldn't be real…could it?' I didn't believe my thoughts. I forced myself to put on my hat and a white bathrobe to cover up my pajamas, grab a flashlight, and head to the elevator. I blindly made my way down the ladder and through hallways, checking every corner along the way and flashing my light in every direction to check for any dangers, and stood in the elevator as it went a floor lower. The next thing I knew, I was in the garage and could see 2D's room.

Murdoc's lights were on and that provided enough light for me to see a path from where I was to 2-D's. I turned off the flashlight and walked over to his door. Down the stairwell, 2D's bedroom door was open so I made no noise coming in.

He was perfectly fine. 2-D was laying in bed, listening to the slow tune of the music box. Smiling to himself, he was about to drift off to sleep.

"2D…?" I asked in a little voice, peeking over his mattress and nudging his shoulder.

He moaned in an annoyed tone and squinted at me with his eyebrows pulled. Once again, only the light from the garage lit up the room. "Wot is it, Love?"

"Nothing-"

"Ten why are you down 'ere so late?" He sounded almost angry. Corpses couldn't be angry. I sighed in relief, satisfied that 2D was alive still.

But I was still bothered by something. "I'm just wondering; do you think Del will come out of Russel's head again?" I asked.

"No, Love. He won't." 2D turned in bed and sighed.

"How are you so sure? What if Del comes again and hurts one of us? I don't like him being in Russel's head…" Then I gasped as I realized, "2D, what if he hurts Russel really badly and it's worse than last time?"

"Lightning neva strikes twice in one place, Love," 2-D concluded, actually lifting his head and looking at me. "If you're really tat scared, tan you can scooch in bed 'ere," He suggested.

I thought against it. "No thanks, 2D. I'm eleven now, so I should be able to take care of myself. I was just concerned is all."

"Okay ten. G'night." 2D dismissed, rolling over to his other side while closing his music box.

"Good night," I said also and left his room.

* * *

As I walked back into the garage, I closed the door with a loud squeak that seemed to have caught Murdoc's ear because by the time I was halfway across the room, he was standing in his doorway of his Winnebago. I jumped and looked at him, flashlight gripped tightly in hand.

"Geez, what's got you all wound up?" He asked with a flat kind of glare. His voice was back to his normal deep pitch again, too.

I relaxed my shoulders and sighed. "Nothing. Just a bad dream."

Murdoc nodded. He seemed unconvinced. "Uh, huh. Wot were you doing in face ache's room?"

I looked back at 2D's room and to Murdoc again. I could feel the hugeness of my eyes as though I was an innocent bunny. "My bad dream was of 2D. I was making sure it wasn't true…" I said in a low murmur.

"You're very gullible. You know that, right?" Murdoc asked, un-amused. I didn't make a snappy remark back. I just dropped my gaze in slight shame. Murdoc groaned and stepped in his house, holding the door open. "C'mon then. Get inside." My head snapped back up, both in confusion and slight surprise. "C'mon inside, girlie! I won't do no harm!" With slight reluctance, I started towards him and entered the house.

It was much cleaner than the last time I was inside and, surprisingly, it didn't smell as bad. I mean, it still smelt bad, but not enough that I had to go running out begging for air like the last time. There was a fan in a window frame and that answered the question as to how it could be possible.

Murdoc sat on this couch-like built-in, organizing some records or something as I looked around. "Why are you still up?" I looked at his bed to see if it was even laid in today, but instead there was a lamp on and a book open. The page had been dog-eared and it looked very recently done. "Were you…reading?"

Murdoc merely glanced up at me and the book and nodded quickly. "Yeah. It's just something on the side. After a long day it helps to unwind, I guess."

"But you never read…!"

"No, you never see me read. That's the difference," Murdoc said in an almost warning tone, putting any other questions of mine to an end. I picked up the book and looked at the cover; It was called _The Book Thief_. I read over the back and put it down again, making sure to lay it so his page wouldn't be lost. Murdoc didn't seem to notice what I was doing.

"So…why did you call me in here? Is it something about the band?" I asked.

"No. Just getting your mind off of whatever it was you were so scared about," Murdoc said, putting away the box of records and facing me. He turned the passenger seat in the front of the Winnebago so that it faced him and offered it to me. I took it. "Tell me now what is this that's bugging you."

I told him about my dreams- the ones from before and after the video- being very careful to leave out the bit about 2D questioning my love for him. I told him how I went to see 2D and make sure he was indeed still alive and how Del being inside Russel scared me beyond words. Murdoc was quiet the whole time, listening intently and nodding at the appropriate times. When I finished he asked, "Have you gone to see Russ tonight?"

"No…I'm afraid if I do, then Del will be floating around and trap me or something." I said, looking down again.

Murdoc's mouth turned into an almost sideways pout and he sighed. "Look, I wasn't expecting Russel to let out that thing again. At most, I was really only expecting the dead bodies that are constantly being dropped on our doorstep to rise again and attack us or something." Murdoc almost chuckled at the thought. "Hey, which reminds me, the hell didn't you listen to me and run away at the first sign of danger like I told you to?"

"Well, I couldn't just leave you there. I was going to help, but the gorilla got me before I could. I just wanted to make sure you were okay," I explained.

"Well from now on, listen to me when I tell you what to do." Murdoc crossed his arms. "Anyway, what was I talking about…oh, yeah. I wasn't expecting Del to come like that. And I'm not too happy about it either since you and I were hurt in it. I don't want my band mates getting injured; not in my band, especially me!" I bit my tongue to prevent myself from giggling at his self-centeredness. "So, the next video, I'm definitely_ not_ going to be in the graveyard again…we're going to have to plan around that now…maybe even see about an exorcism or something. I don't think Russel will be happy about that now, either."

"Yeah." I said, absently. Then the silence kind of hung between us. Murdoc looked at the floor beyond me and I stared at his clasped hands, hanging over his knees as he hunched over. I didn't know how much time had passed- could have been three minutes, could have been three hours- but I soon found myself very tired. "If that's all you have to say, then I think I'm going to sleep…is that all, Murdoc?" I asked, standing.

Murdoc looked up at me and then stood himself. He was still a good head and a half taller than me. "Er, no. There's nothing else I really wanted to say…" It sounded like there was more, but I didn't question him. He must have had his reasons for not voicing them. He walked me to the door and stood there before closing it even though I had taken a few steps away now. "Hey, Love. Do you want me to take you back to your room? That is, are you sure you'll be okay?"

I smiled and put my hands in my pockets. "Nope, that's okay. I'm eleven, you know, I think there's some things I should be able to do on my own now. But thanks anyway."

Murdoc kind of snickered back instead of smiled. I took that as his way of returning mine. "It's okay. Take it easy. See you tomorrow." He said it, however he didn't move from where he was. His gaze didn't leave mine either.

I suddenly had the urge to hug him, so I took the steps back and threw my arms under his and squeezed around his back. "Thanks for checking up on me, Mudsy. See ya tomorrow."

"Okay, you're welcome, get off," Murdoc quickly said and huffed before I broke off. Then the corner of his lip pulled into a thin line as I gave him another quick smile and turned on my heel. The door closed behind me and the lights shut off.

I felt very good as I started going back to my room. It was a good feeling that I only got after having a good talk with Murdoc. I thought it over and concluded that Murdoc had little ways of making me happy that no one else could do. And that was a good feeling that I felt right now, even though there wasn't much said between us, but I definitely felt like he was trying to make me feel better and that alone helped.

I still wondered, though, what it was Murdoc was going to really tell me. I played it off as something I shouldn't worry about. He'll tell me when he feels like it, I guess.

**End of Saga 2**

* * *

**Yeeeaaah, don't ask me about the Book Theif part thing cause I have never read it myself. I just looked for a mature book for Murdoc to read. Just the thought of him doing that to unwind seems to make sense to me and puts me in a serene kind of attitude B) Yeah...**

**Oh yeah, also I have an RP between one of the readers and myself with our characters =) You can join if you want. I'll send you the link if you e-mail me. =) See ya next time!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Sorry it took so long. I'm too lazy to put anything here right now. Just go back and read. YAY CHAPTER 20!**

**The four characters in this chapter are the OCs of a girl named Diana who had sent me her characters to be put in. :) Her account on Deviantart (if you wanna see what they really look like and all) is Desired Destiny. Enjoy!**

* * *

The next morning I woke up and walked into the kitchen where I met Noodle. She was still dressed in pink pajamas covered in cartoon bear heads and I was in my blue set covered in alligators. "Ohayo, Noodle," I greeted as I got a bowl of cereal and sat beside her at the table. She smiled back and we both started to play on our game boys, completely ignoring our breakfast. A few minutes later Murdoc came bursting in and had on the biggest smile I've ever seen him exhibit. It kind of scared me. I scoffed, "Whoa, Mr. Nicalls, did someone you didn't like die last night or something?" Murdoc looked at me with the same face and my eyes went everywhere except his own. "Okay, this is really freaking me out…Noodle?"

"Freak me out, yes!" Noodle said after me, nodding.

Murdoc just laughed and started to ruffle our hair. We swatted away his hands. "Awww! Aren't you two so precious?" We exchanged looks, very disturbed-like. "I'm just so proud of our new music video! I'm so proud of you two. I'm so proud of Gorillaz!" Murdoc smiled at each of us and then snapped his fingers in a smart way. "Hey, I have an idea; Let's celebrate!"

Noodle and I exchanged looks again, this time in happiness. "Yeah!" "And we'll celebrate all morning!"

"Yeah!" Noodle and I cheered again.

Murdoc's smile widened as he stepped around the table. "And we'll start by…by having ice cream for breakfast!"

Noodle and I broke out in roars of happiness. As Murdoc opened the freezer and dug around the shelves I said, "That's really great, Murdoc! I didn't think you'd be so appreciative of all our hard work…but it's actually really cool of you to go and-"

Murdoc pulled all the ice cream gallons out and-all balanced in his arms- walked out of the kitchen to his winnebago.

"-Really cool of you to go and take all the ice cream, because when you said 'we', you meant you and your ego," I finished, frowning at the empty doorway and open fridge. Then I smacked my spoon away, pretending it was Murdoc in spoon form, and looked at Noodle with my head in my hand. "He's a baka…What do you wanna do today?"

Noodle shrugged, then hatched an idea. "Roof paint?" She was referring to graffiti.

I nodded in agreement. "Sure, why not?"

"Papa awake?"

My face flushed as I swallowed down a growing lump in my dry throat as I answered. "No, Papa not awake yet." She meant Russel. I made a new policy to never be around Russel as he slept, in fear of Del. He was active when Russel was asleep and he was dangerous. I didn't like that at all. "Let's go see if 2-D's awake, okay?" I suggested, changing the subject.

"Hai!" Noodle jumped off her stool and took her empty bowl to the sink. I did too, having not touched my cereal. We agreed to meet up in my room after she changed in the hallway and went our separate ways; Her to change in her room and me to wake up 2D.

I walked into the elevator and hit the button for the floor below me. As I waited for the doors to close, I looked out into the hallway. There was a cloud of blue supernatural air floating in a cluster that was coming out of the middle of the floor. My breath was caught in my throat. The blue just floated there; just shifted and puffed, but it was a definite shape. Then it grew eyes. Cold white eyes that stared at me. Hard and evil, they looked like Russel's- but more edgy. I could feel the terror in mine as I stared back, unblinking. The cloud knew I was scared and it grew a red smile. Sharp white jagged teeth to match the white eyes were inside the blood-red lips and- all at once- the smile opened and laughed loudly, as it came flying at me.

Flying in for the kill.

I think I screamed, but it was caught in my throat. All too fast for me to even register, the doors to the elevator closed and it started moving at it's slow pace. The cloud vanished. I was safe.

My heart stopped and I fell to my knees. 'Did I just see-?' My thoughts raced as I suddenly felt claustrophobic in the elevator. If the doors didn't close at the time it did…I didn't even want to think about it. 'It couldn't have been- It was a cloud of cold air- It was just my imagination- It's almost noon- Russel must be awake by now- I was seeing things-' But the look of the white eyes that I saw in the blue figure were too permanent in my mind. Too scaring. I saw Del and Del was looking at me. Almost staring at me. Like he was going to hurt me had the doors not closed on him. Which means he was out to get me.

All this raced through my mind and when the doors did open to the next floor, I bolted out and raced to the carpark. As I turned the corner into the cement room, I bumped into someone and fell on my butt.

"Oh, gosh! Love, I'm sorry!" 2D's voice said above me. I stared at his lime green converse, not saying a word. I was still in shock. "Love, wot's wrong? You look so pale…" I said nothing. 2D bent down and tilted his head so that I could see his face and look into his eyes. "Love? You're worrying me, now…Love?" 2-D's thick eyebrows pulled together and he lifted himself up, putting his hands under my arms and lifting me with him as he went. He made me straddle his side and held me under my thighs, brushing my hair with his hand so that I laid my head on his shoulder and he started to jog.

He walked out into the hall and from the hall into the lobby. He started to head towards the elevator, but a wave of panic came over me causing my eyes to widen and my hand clamp his shirt. "**NO! NO! NO! DON'T TAKE ME IN THERE HE WANTS TO KILL ME!**" I screamed in a shrill voice and turned my head into his neck.

2-D stopped and rubbed my back, petting my hair again and shushing me. "It's okay, Deaftiny, re'lly. I've gotcha. I'm 'ere. Shhhhh- please don' cry- shhhhh."

"What's goin' on?" A deep voice asked and it was Russel. I turned my head again and saw him coming from the hallway opposite us. "I was in the theatre, napping as a movie played, when suddenly I heard this screaming! Is Destiny a'ight?"

"Not re'lly…she's so scared by sumfink, she's shaking! Look," 2-D was about to hand me over to Russel, but I wrapped my arms around his neck. In Russel's head was where Del was and if he was going to try and kill me again like he did just moments before, I didn't want to be anywhere near him. 2D gave up trying and frowned, "She just won' leggo."

Russel brushed my hair with his hand too, but I flinched at his touch. He didn't notice. "Poor baby. Why don't you take you up to her room? Maybe she just woke up from a nightmare."

"Oh yeah," 2-D nodded and hit the button for the elevator with his free hand. The sound of the doors opening made me turn my head to look. It was empty. Del wasn't inside. "I'll tell ya if she gets betta." 2D said to Russel before it started moving again.

As the doors closed, Russel waved to me with a look of utter worry in his white eyes. All I could picture were Del's evil ones and how they wanted to get me. Russel began to scare me.

* * *

Night came quickly and I was feeling better about Del being in the house. When 2-D brought me up to my room, he sent Noodle away and I told him of what I saw. He then convinced me that what I saw was a figment of my imagination and that I shouldn't be so worried about it because Del was a nice person who wouldn't hurt any of us. The rest of the day was spent in my room, playing video games together and the day flew by like that. Now that it was night and 2-D left to turn in, the memory of Del's evil smile came back and I had all the track lights in my room turned on so that there wasn't an inch of darkness in the room.

As I laid in bed, now dressed in a blue plaid zip-up with jeans and my hat, my stomach growled. For the longest time, I debated whether or not I should go downstairs to get a sandwich and my human needs got the better of me. So I grabbed a flashlight, pulled my hat over my head tightly, and opened the submarine-like hatch to the floor downstairs.

'Del doesn't scare me…He's just a ghost after all, he can't hurt me. He's just a ghost.' I constantly repeated in my mind and dropped the ladder. Long story short, I made it to the kitchen and fixed myself a BLT then started my way back. 'See? That wasn't so hard. Del really isn't scary after all. Even if he showed up right now, he wouldn't scare me a bit!' I opened the door to the hallway with my room in it

And Del was floating in front of me.

His arms were folded and his eyes were locked to mine just like before, but they had a different look to them. He didn't have legs- like before- just a little squiggle that went through the floor (probably connected to Russel's head…?).

"We need to talk…" He said to me.

I turned on my heel and jumped for the door to run all in the same quick motion. But the door closed on it's own and locked. My flashlight fell out of my hand and rolled elsewhere, blinking off so that the only light in the room was the digital-like blue glow from Del's floating apparition. I was trapped. Slowly I turned my head and looked back at the ghost who was just watching me, curiously.

I didn't scream. I think I was too petrified. Instead, I slid to the floor with my back pressed against the door and didn't blink.

"So?" Del asked. "Aren't you gonna ask why it is I've come before you?" I said nothing. Del sighed and rolled his eyes, moving closer to me. My heartbeat increased. "Aren't you?"

I just blinked- my eyes were becoming very dry- and did as he told me. "Why is it you've come before me?"

Del just sighed and rolled his eyes, hanging his arms in front of his body in a disappointed and exhausted way. "Why are you so scared of me, D'? You've never been scared of ghosts before."

Despite the figure before me, my eyebrows pulled together. I had a strange curiosity. "You…know my fears?"

Del smiled in an all-knowing kind of way. Almost like a genie. "Of course I do. The only things you're scared of are fire, heights, and car crashes. But you've always liked ghosts."

"How do you know that about me?"

"Because I'm a ghost, child!"

"Oh…" I felt testy. If Del wasn't going to eat me, I wanted to see what else he wanted to talk about me. Turning my head slightly with a mischievous look, I asked, "What else do you know about me?"

"Lots of things."

"Like what?"

"C'mon, what do you think I know about you, D'?" Del asked, playing my game.

"What's my favorite drink…?"

"Dr. Pepper. You _love_ Dr. Pepper."

"True…favorite season?"

"Summer."

"Favorite décor…?"

"Casual Chic."

"Now I know what to do with my room, favorite…"

"You're gonna say animal, and raccoon cause it's nature's ninja," Del finished for me. I wasn't feeling very creative anyway and I scolded myself in my head for it. "I do know everything about you, D'- _everything_. And just to prove it, I know that you have a huge "crush" on Two-Dents."

My face turned crimson. His eyebrow lifted then, intrigued. He knew he had me shot. I quickly rose my eyebrow too and just as quickly I lowered it and put on a look of demeanor. "Well, er….I guess you do know everything about me…Um, why?"

Del became formal as well. "That's what we need to talk about." He backed away until there was at least five feet between us. Then with an authority in his voice, he prompted, "I'm not sure how you look at certain things, but the reality is everything happens for a reason in life, and everyone has a purpose."

I didn't know where he was going, but I nodded slowly all the same.

"Well you, too, have a purpose in life. And _that's_ what I need to look after you for. _That's_ why I know so much about your life. Because I'm assigned to look after you and guide you into making certain things happen-"

"Why?"

Del pouted annoyingly. I apologized for interrupting. "It's a dead thing. Now, I can't tell you what it is you're supposed to do yet, though. I'm not allowed-"

My eyebrows pulled together and I stood, "Not allowed? Not allowed by who? _Satan?_ What are you talking about?" Del smacked his forehead and rubbed it down his face. This annoyed me. "Look, I just want some answers, you know? Ever since the music video- no, the _recording of the album_- it feels like you're stalking me! The least you could tell me is what this is all for! Why are you constantly scaring me?"

"Oh, so you know that was me…!" Del smiled.

I threw my arms wide in the air. "Know you did what? I don't know anything!"

Del laughed once, "That's for sure." I gasped, more out of shocked insult than anything else, and frowned more. I grabbed my flashlight off the floor and walked straight through him and he dissipated. He was a ghost after all. When he re-gathered himself, his body facing the opposite direction and the smile was gone. "Where you goin'?"

"My room. You're just a big meanie. Not telling me what you're talking about."

Del sighed behind me once I even laid a hand on the ladder. "I was the one giving you those nightmares."

I froze. Maybe I heard him wrong. I turned around, "You what?"

"I put those dreams into your sleep. You know I did, you saw me. And I apologize for that."

"Well…why'd you do that?" I asked, turning my body towards him.

"Because it was fun," He chuckled. I didn't. "Aw, come on! I said I was sorry!" I kind of rolled my eyes and smiled. Then I accepted his apology. "Anyway, everyone has a purpose and you have one too. I just have to be your guardian about some of your life choices so the purpose of someone disclosed happens."

"Okay…who's purpose?"

"I can't tell you."

"What purpose does this person have?"

"I can't tell you."

"What can you tell me, Del?"

"I can't tell you, girl! Aren't you listening?" I pouted. "That's not true…What I can tell you: there's certain steps that I have to take in order to make sure that you can take the steps that will ultimately cause this certain someone's purpose in life to happen." My eyes widened in confusion. "You okay or am I going too fast?"

"I'm fine. It's just…pressure."

"Okay. And I can also tell you is that if you mess up this 'life-changing process', then the karma of the world will fall out of balance. But don't worry! I'll be there to help you. That's why I'm telling you this now."

"That's a whole lot of **more **pressure!" I panicked.

"No, no, it's fine! I mean, you knowing right now is part of the process and it's fine! You're doing fine!" Del said, rubbing my shoulder. I did not feel his hand on me…

"Oh, um…well, since I don't really want to know about what other karma stuff I could mess up, I'm going to bed." Then I jumped, "And _**don't**_haunt my dreams, please!"

"You got it."

"And…before I go to sleep, you aren't going to eat me in the hallways?"

Del smiled again and did his one laugh bit. "No, that was for fun too."

"Oh, god, never again," I sighed in relief. "Okay, then, um…see ya? When Russel sleeps, right?"

"I knock him unconscious whenever I feel like checking up on you. Or when I'm assigned to." I nodded, suddenly worried for Russel again. No wonder he had those headaches. "You know what, though? Usually, overseers aren't supposed to reveal themselves to the people they're watching."

"Oh…why am I special then?" I asked, blushing suddenly.

"Well, lemmie put it this way…You're name isn't 'Destiny' for no reason." Del winked. I thought about it, smiled, and nodded. Then I pulled down the ladder to my room and put one foot on a rung. "Everything happens for a reason, 'Love'." He was talking about 2-D's pet name for me. I blushed again and climbed up as fast as I could. "Night, Destiny."

I crawled into bed again and shut my eyes tightly. I'm a very important person in making someone find their 'destiny'? I wonder how many other people were like me. How am I ever going to trigger this 'destiny' anyway? And who was it for? Was it for me? Noodle? Russel or Murdoc? Or 2D?

And Del was a pretty nice guy after all. I had always thought he was just a creeper who was constantly trying to hurt me, but it turned out he was a very nice ghost. He reminded me of a ghost that Noodle was obsessed with at one time named Casper. I smiled, having made friendly with the undead, but was still bothered by the things he told me. I didn't want to think about it. All I wanted to do was fall asleep so I curled up more in my blankets and closed my eyes.

"Oh yeah!" Del's voice suddenly came from his floating head that was mere inches from mine. His head was glowing again. It made me jump. "I forget to tell you that there's something important for you to do real soon. Like _real_ soon. But for now, g'night, D!" And his head disappeared.

'I take back what I said,' I thought again, suddenly wide awake. 'Del is _freaky_!'

* * *

From late February to March, Murdoc had me book rehearsal time in the Depot Studios in London's Holloway Road for the Gorillaz. This was to further perfect our performance skills (since the last and only time we played live was at the Camden Brownhouse, where we were signed), create a stage persona, and take a break from Kong. As a person who hated playing live shows everywhere I went, this was kind of like visiting high school after you graduate college; a nice, familiar presence, but with a mature, fond welcome of memories.

Murdoc also had me post an ad out on the website for our first professional performance at the London's Cross Scala. Needless to say, it was quickly sold out. Everyone was curious of what the Gorillaz was and what kind of music the Gorillaz produced. In my opinion, I think they were all just curious as to how we were going to pull off a show for humans when we were bunch a cartoons

Much like I am right now. "Just how _are_ we going to pull this off, anyway? We're cartoons. They're humans. The two worlds usually don't collide like that…right?"

Murdoc looked at me in his peripheral vision and said nothing. The five of us continued to walk through the little hallway that eventually opened to a large stage-like area. One wall was completely white and plastered over and the other cinder blocked walls were painted black for dramatic effect. All the instruments and lights were pointed in such a way that the white wall would be where the audience was.

"Hello? Murdoc are you even lis- whoa, hey, where is everybody?" I asked, pausing to look around for the audience that Murdoc apparently invited for them to watch. It was supposed to be a lot of critics and a few random fans, but they weren't in the room. "Where is everyone?" I asked again, this time to Russel.

"Don't you know?" Russel asked, as though it was obvious. "Everyone is here. They're just behind the screen."

"Screen? What screen?" Then with a stroke of obvious, I realized that the white wall was actually the screen that they were talking about. And that there was noise coming from behind it that sounded like voices. My mouth went into a straight line. Noodle started to copy me. Then 2D saw us and did the same in an attempt to fit in. I rolled my eyes then turned to Murdoc, "So we'll be playing behind a screen to hide the fact that we're cartoons?" Murdoc gave me another sidelong glance out of the corner of his eye and said nothing again. "What are you doing that for?" I asked, peeved.

"I don't know, it makes me seem more mysterious," Murdoc said with a clever sneer and shrug. "Is it working?"

"No. Murdoc, why do we need a screen? I'm human for real, so I could technically play in front of the screen, right?"

"No!" Murdoc yelled. "You're a part of this band and you're dedicated to it, right? Well then, you're going to be behind the screen just like the rest of us, got it?"

I saluted in a sarcastic way. "Sir, yes sir," I said and dropped my arm. "But seriously, though. Why don't we just play without the screen? Seriously, I mean, people see us all the time on the streets and stuff, so what's the point of hiding ourselves?"

A man, without us noticing had sneaked onto the stage, bent over, and dropped his pants as to reveal his ass to the audience. My eyes grew ten-fold in surprise. Thank God it was just his silhouette.

"That's why we stay behind the screen," Murdoc informed me with another glance out of his side vision. I looked at Noodle and 2D and they looked back at me with the same expression. I smacked my forehead and readied myself to play with a sigh.

* * *

After five hours of rehearsing, we finally got enough applause to satisfy Murdoc. Besides, we had already filled out our time slot and then some. We waited for the people in the audience to leave and all the other producers and stuff, packed up our junk and left some other junk behind, since we would be back tomorrow anyway, and as we packed, a girl with blue bangs over her right eye came our way.

"Hi, can we help you?" I couldn't get it all out, though, because she picked me off the ground by the front of my shirt. There was a gleam in the dim light out of the corner of my eye and my subconscious knew it was a knife in her hand. My mind couldn't think of anything to say. 2D and Noodle screamed my name in fear.

"You," the girl said through gritted teeth and pressed the blade to my face. "and your band, took _forever_ on that stage. So much, that you cut into our rehearsal time. Now, you have to pay for it." I felt a sting in my cheek and the blood roll down my face. 2D and Noodle were frozen with fear. I just stared into her one visible dark blue eye and stuttered. What was she going to do?

"Miranda Rose Jones!" A firm voice suddenly came from behind her. A Japanese girl, who looked no older than Noodle or I, came and pulled off her off of me. I stumbled backwards and bumped into 2D who folded his arms around me, protectively. His arms were like a cage around mine and bridged across my chest…I blushed. "That's no way to treat another musician! Especially someone in the Gorillaz!" She continued to scold the girl like that while she silently listened. The girl with the knife put it away.

Meanwhile, another pair of teenagers ran up to us and one looked at me and 2D with an apologetic face. "I'm sorry for whatever trouble just happened," she said, pushing a strand of light blue hair behind her ear. "She angers easily."

"Don't worry about it," I said over 2-D who was gathering the oxygen to yell at them with. I gave him a firm look and he apprehensively released me. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. At least, on behalf of our band. We really should've left a while ago."

The girl behind the light blue-haired one chuckled. "No shit."

She turned around and scolded, "Veronica! That's not nice to say!" Then she turned back around and sighed. "It's no problem. Really. My name is Destiny Williams. I'm the lead singer for Toxic hArts." She held her hand out and I shook it. I noticed that she was pretty young-looking, as all of her band mates did, but she was the most mature. Her hair, even in the dim light, was a light, ice-like blue and her eyes shone like crystals in the night. I was pretty jealous. Besides that, she was dressed in a white t-shirt with black sleeves, black bell bottoms, and converse. She seemed really polite.

"Oh, cool! My name's Destiny too!" I said with a big smile. "I'm Destiny Hobbs, though."

"Oh, that's funny!" Destiny laughed and gestured behind her to the rest of her band, "I see you've met Miranda already. She's our bassist." I looked behind her cautiously and examined her. She had blue bangs hanging in front of her right eye, as I said before, but the rest of her long hair was so dark that it looked like a part of the bad lighting backstage. She wore a long sleeve shirt that was dark red and plain black skinny jeans. Around her neck was an upside-down cross like Murdoc's.

"And that's Yuki, our lead guitarist and back-up singer." She was the Japanese one. She held her hair in high pigtails and the ends of her bangs were tinted red. She wore a white skirt with a nice looking green t-shirt and when she was done lecturing Miranda, she started to go into an intense and long conversation with Noodle in Japanese.

"And finally- wait…where did Veronica go?" Destiny wondered, and I searched with her. However when I found Murdoc, I found her, being flirted with endlessly. "And that's our drummer and band planner. Her name's Veronica." Destiny finished exasperated. She was probably the oldest of them all with long orange hair, but it was obviously dyed. Her eyes were angry and green in color and she wore a white tank top with jeans.

"Oh, nice to meet you all." I introduced the Gorillaz members then and said, "And our drummer- wait…where's Russel?"

Yuki and Noodle came running up to us then, both excited about something. "Oh my gosh!" Yuki said with a heavy Japanese accent. "I didn't know you were Gorillaz! That is _so. Cool_!"

"Er, thank you?" I asked. Then I looked at Noodle and asked again, "Do you know where Papa is?" but she said something I couldn't recognize. "Um, yes?"

"She said that he's out in the car, waiting for you." Yuki said. Noodle nodded in confirmation.

"Oh, thank you." I smiled and asked, "Would you like to come with us, or…?"

"Thanks, we would, but Veronica would be pretty mad at us if we didn't rehearse." Destiny said in an apologetic tone and pointed at the two behind us. "But it's a good thing your friend found her first, though. Or else we'd be getting an earful right about now."

I looked between her and Murdoc. "Oh, no, see, Murdoc isn't my friend, he's actually my-" I paused. "My guardian." I sighed through gritted teeth.

Miranda came with 2-D trailing along then, although he looked very afraid of her. I flinched too. "I'm sorry for yelling at you. And threatening you. And cutting your cheek," she said through gritted teeth. 2D handed me a band-aid and I put it across my face.

"That's okay." I mumbled. "We…we should really be going. Why don't you all drop by later, then, to have dinner or something? I'm sure Murdoc wouldn't mind."

Yuki's face lit up as she gasped. "_OH MY GOSH, THAT WOULD BE THE COOLEST! _Can we go, Destiny? Please please please please please?" She kept asking becoming more and more annoying as time went and grabbing her arm more and more.

Destiny rolled her eyes and agreed to come around Kong after their rehearsal. I gave them directions from here and we parted ways (even though it took a lot of effort to get Murdoc away from annoying poor Veronica). When we entered the car, Russel looked a little peeved. "What took you guys so long?" We explained what happened to him. "Oh, well that's great! I'll make a big dinner then!"

I got really excited. I like Russel's big dinners. "Cool, so then, shall we head home?"

"Sure, lemmie just- whoa, wait." He stopped all activity and turned in the driver seat to face me. His eyebrows pulled together as he touched my bandaged cheek. "Destiny, what happened to you?"

I didn't want to really go into detail of what happened, so I simply said, "I just got hurt is all. Nothing too bad."

Russel nodded and turned back around. "Okay, child. Just be careful, you hear?"

"Yes, Daddy," I said in a sweeter-than-corn-syrup tone.

* * *

Later, I was sitting around on my laptop, writing a letter to Damon about our successful rehearsal in the Depot and about the band that we met there as we left when I heard the doorbell. Not even a split second later, 2D's head was popping out of a door from one of the corridors. "I'll get it!" He said excitedly and sprinted to it.

Then Noodle popped out from the elevator. "No! Me getting door!" She screamed and ran faster. But 2-D pulled her behind him, but she tackled him to the ground.

Then Murdoc came from another corridor, saw what was happening, and walked to the door quickly. "What are you nobs rolling over the floor for? I'll get the door, then!"

"NO!" The two on the floor screamed and they all wrestled, pulling each other down and never making any progress.

I sighed, put my laptop aside, and rose to the occasion muttering, "I swear, sometimes I'm the most mature person here, can't even get the freaking door without fig- HIIIIIII guys!" I finished, pulling open the door and greeting the four who stood outside.

Veronica looked annoyed. "It's about time you got here," she commented with a sneer, then she entered ahead of everyone and started to look around.

"Hallo, Destiny-chan! How're you?" Yuki asked me as she entered and saw Noodle. The two started to talk loudly in Japanese and then the two disappeared into the elevator. I barely took something about going to her room out of the conversation.

Miranda didn't say anything to me as she walked in, but stood in the middle of the hallway awkwardly looking around.

Then Destiny entered last and greeted me with a smile. "Good evening, Destiny! How're you this evening?"

"Very well, actually." I closed the door as I followed her further into the room. She greeted 2D who was now on his feet and he waved back with a smile. Murdoc was already occupied with talking to Veronica again, though she didn't look happy about it, and I offered the remaining three a tour of the building. They agreed and we spent an hour or so walking around. Luckily nothing too out of the ordinary happened as I guided them and we eventually re-grouped with Yuki and Noodle and found our way to the kitchen. Russel was in there, apron and all, and finished cooking the fabulous dinner and we sat down to eat. It was a very outstanding dinner with lots of conversation and even more interesting stories that we all shared with each other. All the while I noticed that Miranda was pretty quiet unless she was talking to Destiny of the other band. I quietly observed the happening.

* * *

After dinner, Yuki ran back with Noodle to her room to jam on the guitar some more, Veronica and Destiny went to hang out with 2D and Murdoc, and Miranda followed them. That left Russel and I to talk. "So, these girls seem like really nice people," He commented, handing me a soapy dish to dry. I took it from him and his hands returned to the sink.

"Yeah, I really like them." I said with a smile as I thought of Veronica, and Yuki, and most of all Destiny. Then my mind landed on Miranda. "Well, at least most of them I like. But they're all really neat nonetheless."

"_Most _of them are?" Russel asked, as I finished drying another dish and spun to put it away. "What do you mean by that? Did one of them hold a gun up to your head or something?" He joked.

"No, nothing like that. Just a knife, is all." I said it before I could take it stop myself. I heard a crash behind me and turned quickly. Russel dropped the plate he was cleaning. My eyes went from there to his face.

He was completely stunned. I couldn't have done a better job of scaring him if I was dangling from the balcony Murdoc and 2D smoke on. "Is that what the cut on your cheek is from?" Russel asked, throwing the washcloth into the sink, causing suds to fly everywhere. Then he tore off the apron and started to storm out of the room. "Who was it that did that? Tell me right now, Destiny or-"

My heart raced and I shook my head a thousand times, standing between him and the doorway. "No, no, no- Russel, it's okay! Really! It was all just a big misunderstanding! I promise, they're really nice. _All_ of them are nice." I said in- what I hoped was- a convincing voice. "Besides, I think she deserves a second chance. I think everyone does, and maybe it was just- like- a bad beginning. So why shouldn't they be allowed that luxury?"

It apparently worked. "Alright. I'm going to trust you this time. But if any one of them give you or anybody in this house a problem, they all leave. And I want them all gone by eleven."

I nodded and kissed his cheek as he went back to the sink. "I'm sorry to have worried you. I love you Russel."

"I love you too, baby girl. Stay safe." He said with his back to me. I felt really horrible, but I left the kitchen anyway as to avoid awkwardness. The time now was nine-forty and I went to 2D's room to find out what he and the other Destiny were up to. On the way I found Veronica and Murdoc talking. He was constantly trying to coax her into the lair he calls his house, the Winnebago, but she was consistently refusing him. I admired her willpower.

Upon entering 2-D's room, I saw Destiny and Miranda sitting on the bed beside 2D in his yellow chair. They were watching _Day of the Dead_ by George Romero. As to not interrupt too much, I decided to just let myself in and crawled to the other side of Destiny on the bed and watched with them. They both smiled at me and I returned it silently. It was a comfortable silence between the three of us. I came in halfway through the movie- specifically at the part where Miguel gets bitten and his arm is amputated- so it ended pretty quickly and at that point it was ten-twenty. It would take a half hour alone to find the other two and get them on their way.

"That was a pretty cool movie, 2-D." Destiny complemented him as we walked back to gather the rest of her band. As we walked, I was watching Miranda and how close of an eye she kept on Destiny. It kind of weirded me out. "I'll have to come back up again to watch the rest lat-" Then her cell phone rang. She picked it out of her pocket and started to talk to the other end. The broken conversation sounded like, "Hello?….Oh, hi Mom…..no, I'm just hanging out with a few friends…..no, Miranda's with me, but I mean some other friends….just a band we- What? Oh," She turned to her friend. "My mom wants to say hi." And she handed her phone. 'Why would she want to talk to Miranda?' I wondered. 'Of all people?'

Miranda's face lit up as soon as she put the cell to her ear. "Hi, Auntie," She said in a cheery tone and the two went on to talk about little things.

My face went to instant shock. Just as I was going to start asking questions, the other Destiny pulled me aside. I realized we were now in the lobby. "What do you look so shocked? Are you okay?"

"_She's your cousin?_"

Destiny blinked. "Yeah, didn't I mention?" I shook my head. "Oh well, yeah, we're related. Miranda and I have always been close…which is kinda why she usually hangs around me and stuff."

I blinked again. I thought that Miranda was a loner. That she was intimidating and only cared about her and her needs. But she cared a lot about her cousin and family and that really broke the stereotype. I felt bad when she came back to join Destiny's side.

"Yuki just came down with Veronica. You wanna say goodbye to the others before we head off?" She asked. Destiny nodded and went to Noodle.

Miranda and my eyes met for a second and she nodded to me in acknowledgement and I smiled back. "Take care."

"You too." She paused, smiled, and walked away.

I looked around the room and saw Miranda saying bye to Russel and thanking him for the food, Noodle to Yuki and promising to have a sleepover soon, Veronica to Murdoc and discussing about she will never call him,

And Destiny with 2D. And he was smiling with a look in his eye that I didn't like. My mouth fell open.

"Destiny-chan!" Yuki screamed in delight as she blocked my view of the pair. I moved my head too see, but she moved too, so I moved again. She started talking on and on about what a great time she had and more nonsense like that, but I was too intent on watching Destiny with 2D; watching every move they made. He was saying something funny, and she was laughing, and 2-D said something else, and that made her touch her hair self-consciously. Then they waved to one another and Destiny stood on her tip-toes to kiss 2-D's cheek. He blushed and touched it, smiling.

I felt like I was punched in the gut and all the wind was knocked out of me. I felt angry. Betrayed. Sad. And inferior. How could Destiny do that to me? Did she like him or something? Did 2-D like her back? Doesn't she know that you don't do that to people the first day you meet them? I wanted to storm up to her and give her a good talking to about how she should lay off my man.

Which is what I did. At least, what I did and then she walked out of the building. "Bye again, everyone!" She said and the rest of her friends followed her out. 2-D waved to everyone as they left and closed the door. We stood facing one another.

He smiled down at me and I glared back. "Wosn't tat fun? I fink tat Destiny and I get along really well! Just like you and I," He said and ruffled my hair as he walked away. "Do you wanna go get some leftovers and watch anotha film wif me?" I wanted to say, 'Why don't you go ask your new girlfriend?', but I didn't. Instead I continued to glare at him as he walked towards the corridor to the garage. When I didn't answer right away he looked back at me. "Love?"

"Yeah, I'll be there in a sec," I grumbled out angrily. He nodded and left the lobby. I turned my head to the rest of the band and they looked displeased. I brushed them off and walked to the elevator. "What?"

Russel ignored the angry tone in my voice. "Destiny sweetie, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." I said through gritted teeth and slammed the up button in. I realized I was grinding them and bit my tongue instead. "There's nothing wrong." I stepped in the doors as soon as they opened and hit the button for the next floor.

As I waited, Murdoc commented with crossed arms, "Green's not your best color, short stack."

I glared at his smug look with the iciest and most evil glare I could produce. "**Shut. Up.**" It didn't phase him.

* * *

**Uh oh, someone's a little jelly. ;) Wonder how this will work out. Til next time! Oh, and keep messaging me what y'all think or if you have OCs. Byeeeeee**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hey! Author here.**

**I'm so sorry about taking so long to upload again, but I've been having major writer's bl- Oh, who am I kidding? I've been lazy.**

**Murdoc: Niiiiice. -.-**

**Me: Shuddup! I'ma ignore you. Anyway, thanks to everyone who's been reading! I think in the past two months I got six or some reviews, a message from a fan, three more favorites, and over two thousand more hits...! Thank you all so much!**

**RECAP: In the last chapter, Destiny ws confronted by hauntings from Del, the ghost rapper who lives inside of Russel's head. He told her that she's has a 'destiny' to fulfill which will be the key factor in changing something (It's really hard to describe that. I think it's kind of a Ash in _Pokemon 2000_ kinda thing, or Po in _Kung Fu Panda_ where only they can stop the end of the world, only not so serious. Just something important). He tells her, however, that it won't happen for a while so in the meantime, she can get to know this friendly ghost :D**

**At the Gorillaz first rehearsal for their first live performance, Destiny and crew met an OC band named Toxic hArts. The four characters came to Kong and hung out, but by the end of the night, Destiny was hurt when she saw the lead singer of the other band, Destiny, kiss 2D! Oh no! How ever will Destiny feel about this?**

**Go find out.**

* * *

"How could she do that?"

"Now relax, 'D. I'm sure there's a logical explanation for this."

"No! I know the explanation! Destiny is into 2-D! Gah! I hate being eleven!" I complained and collapsed in my bed. Del didn't bounce, but my pillows at the other end flew everywhere. After storming up to my room, Del floated through the floorboards having "sensed negative energies from his subject". I explained the situation to him and he was a caring ear and a comforting shoulder…well, not really because he's a ghost, but Del was "sitting" and witnessed anyway.

"So wait, lemmie see if I got this straight." Del cleared his throat. "Destiny (not you, some other chick) is trying to hook up with 2-D even though you're the one who introduced each other?"

"Er, yeah. Basically," I sighed, crawling up to sit beside him. It was quiet for a while. "They were only together for a few hours- How come they connected just like that?" I snapped my fingers to help prove my point.

"Well, you and Stuart Pot were exactly the same way if I remember myself," Del said giving off the only light in the room as usual. "I mean, that's just one more thing you have in common. You shouldn't be mad at her."

"I'm not mad at her," I decided and nodded as if confirming it with myself. "I'm mad that 2D likes her back."

"You don't know that." Del placed a hand on my shoulder. It was icy to the touch.

"But 2-D smiled when she kissed him." My heart sank some after I said it. It hurt more out loud. "And what if he kisses back next time? Or they start dating? Or they marry?" I pouted. "Their kids will have Destiny's eyes and 2D's purple hair. And they'll name them Faith and Bob. Cause 2-D will remember it easily." My voice rose more at the end and I face-planted my bed again.

I was joking, obviously, but Del didn't get it. "Relax, 'D. It's not like she knows you have a crush on him too. Besides, I _know_ you don't have hard feelings for her, so there's no point in diva-ing about it."

I glared from my pillow with a red tint across my cheeks, "Okay, that whole knowing-everything-about-me thing is really starting to get weird. And who's side are you on?" He laughed at that and looked at me with an obvious look. I smiled. "Thanks."

"Anytime. Besides, that whole marrying story? It won't happen. Trust me." As soon as it left his mouth, Del's hands clasped over his lips. "I shouldn't-"

"Did you say something, Del? I thought not," I winked, as though I didn't hear him say it. Del smiled and was going to say something, but suddenly he stopped and stared off into the middle distance. It was quiet again as he checked something about my future. "Is something wrong?" I asked, not moving as if it would disturb the vision.

"No, everything's fine. Just an update-kinda thing…" Del thought about it and shrugged.

"Yeah, it sounds just as weird as you made it," I laughed and asked quickly. "By the way, how soon am I gonna have to do this destiny-changing assignment?"

Del closed his eyes and tilted his head back, "Soon," he said, opening them. "It'll happen soon. But not yet. Don't worry about it."

"How soon?"

"It won't be 'til after the performance."

"Well that doesn't give me long." I thought for a while. Then I realized, "Wait, does the other Destiny have some kinda purpose like I do? Cause- you know- her name is Destiny too? Is she gonna change someone's future like I am?"

Del sighed. "Okay, one thing fo sho first: Everyone changes everybody's destiny. Don't think that you're just the special one. For example, the Gorillaz band changed your future and none of your band mates' names are Destiny."

I mulled this over in my mind and nodded in agreement.

"Anyway, as far as I know, I don't think Destiny is going to change the course of history like you will. At least, not to my knowledge. We, the ghosts that is, don't really know these kinda things about everyone." My eyes widened. "What?"

"_I'm gonna change the course of history?_" I felt ready to faint from the news.

Del's eyes opened just as much as mine. "Oh no, I wasn't supposed to tell you that either! Don't worry, no pressure! You'll do fine!" I only slightly nodded, half aware he was even talking. "Anyway, why are you so hung up on Destiny and 2D anyway? I thought 2-D didn't even know about your crush on him."

"He doesn't."

"So why don't you tell him? And that his becoming intimate with another is weirding you out?"

I sighed, sitting up and not meeting his eyes. "Because this is just the way I want it. 2D's and my friendship; it's too good to ruin. I mean, how awkward would it be to work together after that? Or even hang out? Our friendship would completely change. And there's absolutely no chance that he feels the same way back. Cause, I mean, really. He's twenty-two. That's almost twice my age. There's no way he would even look at me like that."

"Aw, girl. C'mere," Del put his arm out so I could rest my head on his shoulder. I tilted to the side, expecting to collapse to his shoulder, but I fell through him and face-planted the bed. Del dissipated and when he re-formed further from me so I wasn't laying in him. "Sorry."

I muffled something impolite into the bed and picked myself up. "S'okay. I just can't wait for this whole infatuation to be over with. I mean, I know it's just some kid thing. Derrick had one on Angelina Jolie at my age, but it was just a phase."

Del nodded with a look of understanding. "I feel ya and all that, 'D, but I think it would be much easier if you just told Two-Dents how you felt. Or at least that his public display of affections make you uncomfortable."

"Or I could tell him that he's driving me crazy and to leave me alone until my crush on him goes away."

Del glared at me. I could tell he didn't like that plan at all. "No, Destiny. If you tell him to buzz off without any reason to support it, he'll feel horrible. I mean, you know 2-D; he'll just break down."

"But it seems so easy, Del. I mean, why not for once I do something to take care of me? And protect myself by sheltering him away from me?" Del gave me a stern look. "Alright, alright, fine. I won't tell him to buzz off."

"Promise?"

"Sure, whatever." I sighed. "By the way, can you tell me what I gotta do? Like, how this is gonna go down when 'That Time' comes?" I asked. Del nodded. "What? You can! Then tell! I'm freaking out!"

"Okay, well- uh oh…" Del started to dematerialize, which meant Russel was waking up from either sleeping or the coma that Del put him in. Like if he was on TV, he buzzed and fizzed and started to float around the room and down the doorway. It closed and locked behind him in seconds. I was alone.

"Great, now I'll never know," I muttered to myself. My gaze wandered my room from the door to my beanbag chair. There was the outfit laid out for our performance tomorrow very neatly spread across it. It consisted of a white ¾ length-sleeved shirt that had swirls printed on most of the left side, red bell-bottoms, and black converse. And I would obviously wear my brother's hat and a few accessories that Noodle will lend me. I kept reminding myself that we only had to go back to the depot once more and then we were done with seeing the Toxic hArts, the band that Destiny was in.

With great remorse for the night, I crawled into bed and fell asleep, fully clothed. I didn't get that much sleep though. And when I did, I dreamt of nightmares that 2-D would completely forget about me when I was more than willing to be his friend. The fear and heartbreak that I felt was much worse than anything Del could ever cause.

* * *

The next morning was hell. Having had no sleep the prior night and needing to wake up early, I was a horrible cranky mess. In fact, I was so short-tempered and exhausted that Murdoc changed my bedtime.

We arrived to the London depot early to rehearse one final time and it was there we found the Toxic hArts band waiting for us to arrive. Almost immediately Destiny found 2-D and the two hit it off again. The same thick jealousy burned through every fiber of my being. I wanted to yell, push, and hug and hold him. And tell him that I didn't like what he was doing to me and I wanted him to stop talking to me. But then I'd be breaking the promise I made to Del and to myself about not freaking out on him.

And I wanted to do the same to Destiny, minus the hugging part…actually, replace the hugging with biting. But I was too good for that.

They wanted to ask if they could open for our show tonight and with some convincing to Murdoc, and some sex appeal, he agreed. Everyone in the band- Noodle, Russel, Murdoc, and 2D- thought this was the greatest thing that could happen to two bands who were friends, but I thought it was lame. Not that I could voice my opinion or anything- I mean, what could I say? 'I'm mad that we're having a social life with other bands?' That would work out well, not really. Murdoc told me to arrange for a contract with EMI records to make it official within the week and I tried my best to ignore that they were going to open up the show for us.

Doesn't mean I succeeded.

But the worst part was after our rehearsal. There were still two or so hours until we had to perform and 2-D invited we hang out. He offered we go to pizza and play video games at the local arcade, but each time I glared and gave him a quick "no, thank you." Had this been any other situation, I would have gladly said 'yes' and my heart would sing a cappella. But 2D was with **her** just moments before- sometimes offering still with her- and it made my heart feel like there was a black hole inside it. So instead, 2-D and Destiny went with Murdoc and other band peoples to some celebrity party that they weren't even invited to because Murdoc wanted to get drunk and give out autographs. I was happy that they did that instead of dragging me out with them. I'd rather crawl up in a ball backstage and play video games on my laptop, or listen to music, or sleep.

Which is what I did.

* * *

A few hours turned into many and what woke me up was when Yuki strummed very loudly on her guitar. The show was opening. People were sitting in their seats already and cheering for Toxic hArts. I rushed to prepare myself and was ready just as they finished.

The stage was set.

People ran around frantically preparing us for our first song.

The screen was pulled up and the projector set.

Murdoc attempts endlessly to plug in all the wires into their respectful amps, but fails each time. I push him aside and do it myself.

As soon as the beam of light hits us, and our silhouettes are outlined through the screen, the crowd cheered and screamed. We waited for Murdoc who waited for the crowd to quiet, then he prompted me into the opening of 'M1-A1' with him as we built up the song to its full potential. Like a metronome he muttered to me,

"1, 2, 3, and 1, 2, 3, and up a step, and down a step to verse 2, and 1, 2, 3" and so on.

After that, it was a bun stormer. Everything we did was perfect to the T. We heard the cheers of the crowd and knew they loved the visuals. It was so intense backstage, that during the second half it became humid and we were all hot. Literally. Murdoc- after much convincing to not go further- striped down to his underwear, 2D and Russel took off their shirts, and even Noodle removed the red jumpsuit she always loved to wear to reveal a cute little teddy-printed shirt underneath. I simply took off my brother's hat for I had sweat dripping off the tips of my hair and fanned my shirt, but as I did I could've sworn I saw 2-D checking me out as I did so. I wonder if he was expecting more. Then I scolded myself for it.

While Toxic hArts opened the show, two rappers from the EMI label closed it out with their rendition of Clint Eastwood. 20 pound notes fell from the ceiling and two giant 'Gorillaz' spray-painted cubes were thrown into the crowd for them to toss around. The crowd went nuts.

Murdoc and I stood watch in one of the wings offstage. "You know," I said shaking my head in disapproval. "I'll never understand rap and the weird-ass rituals they have."

"Mind your language," Murdoc commented, not really conscious of the parental correction. I apologized out of habit. "And let's just get out here. It's getting' too hot back 'ere."

"Hey!" Destiny from Toxic hArts was with Yuki and the two were running at us. "Great show you guys! And I can't thank you enough for letting us open up for your band, you're the best."

For a split second my eyes glared a little and fixed themselves and Murdoc took notice. He saw me from the corner of his eye. So he spoke on our behalf, "Whatever. Just don't think we'll be in co- cohoo- coha-"

"Cohorts, Murdoc."

"Don't correct me," Murdoc pointed at me.

Destiny and Yuki just laughed. "Noodle, Russel, and 2D are going to join us for celebratory malts. Do you two wanna come too? Please?" Yuki asked with big eyes.

Murdoc looked down at me. I could tell he knew something was up. If I was going to say no like he knew I was going to, he was going to say no too. If I was going to go make myself be miserable at home, he wanted to be there for me in the strange way he always was. But not this time. Oh, how I did not want him to be there for me this time. "You go on ahead without me," I told him especially. "I'm feeling kinda tired. I think I'll go home and, er…finish up the contract for Toxic hArts to open up for Gorillaz. It's this whole EMI thing I gotta do, but Murdoc's making me finish it up tonight. Right, Murdoc?" "Eh? But I said you had until the end of the wee-" I threw him a very stern look. He looked back at me first confused, then realization slapped him across the face. "Oh! Oh- yeah! Yes I did!" He looked mad at me now. I knew it was acting. "So you go take this cab money! Go take these keys that you always take from me! And go get yourself home safe and sound and I'll see you when I get there!" As he said each object, he handed them to me; all the objects to get me safely home. He was silently showing me that he's there for me even when I won't let him.

Quickly, I threw him a smile. "Thanks, Muds. See ya." Then I threw the two girls a look, glaring once again at Destiny in the small way I had before. "Girls," I acknowledged and left out the back door.

**March 22nd**** 2001:**** Gorillaz perform at London's Kings Cross Scala**

* * *

I called Damon over so he could overlook the contract before it was sent off to EMI since he was our very professional connection to them and he and Jamie came over to keep me company. Finishing the contract took mere seconds and faxing it to EMI was just a few more, but the two stuck around anyway since I didn't want to be home alone while I was in such hard times. We hung out in the ever-frequently used gaming lounge and played various numbers from the Grand Theft Auto series as we waited for the rest of the band to come home.

"Okay," Jamie said, playing the video game as Damon and I sat at the table making calls. "I'm gonna head over to the docks, kill the mob boss, take over all of Vegas, fuck the boss's hot girlfriend, take over the family business, and win the achievement that gets me his solid gold shotgun. How's that sound?"

I didn't respond. I was too indulged with filling out the request for a warm-up band contract with some EMI official. Also, the game gave me a headache. Damon, however, spun in his seat to look. "Wait…isn't the mob boss your dad?"

"Yup."

"So wouldn't you just be fuckin' your mum?" "No. I just killed her. Actually, I'm coming back from killing me mum to go kill my dad!" Jamie gave a pirate-like laugh.

"Oh…then who'd you kill yesterday? Or was that your uncle?"

"Guys…" I said finally. It was as though my fingers were permanently stuck to my temples in pain.

"Sorry," they both said in unison. Jamie turned off his video game and joined us at the table, turning his chair so that he could cross his arms over the back as he usually does.

"Where is everyone anyway?" Jamie asked as he started to scribble on a piece of paper with a mechanical pencil from his jacket. "Been real quiet."

"They went out with that all-girls band for malts." I scrunched up my nose to the statement. "Remember the Toxic band that we met backstage of the Scala?"

They both hissed and 'ooo'ed; already aware of my dislike for the one girl. Damon and Jamie are personal friends of not only me but the Gorillaz too, after all.

"So these groupies are still hanging all over you?" Damon asked as he took out a deck of cards and started to shuffle them. One thing that the three of us enjoyed was playing a round of poker. However we'd usually have a fourth player- whether it be Murdoc or Jamie's intern assistant, Ally- but today we were short one, so our game would surely end quickly.

"Groupies?" I asked, taking my hand and viewing the cards. They weren't good. "What's that?"

"They're a bunch of fans who hang around with the band as much as possible," Damon defined. "They just praise and worship them as much as possible. They clean their junk, tune their instruments, take em out to dinner-"

"-or malts!" Jamie finished, suggestively. "Just to get in your pants, or find some kinda scandal about the mates, or leech off the band's fame!" Jamie glanced down to his cards and traded one in. "Go fish."

Damon and I gave him a weird, "you're-crazed" look. "Anyway," I went on like I hadn't heard him. "I guess so, but they're not really like that. Cause they have their own and stuff."

"Ah," Jamie slammed a card down as he said, "They _are_ mooching off you!"

"But we met them before their rehearsal at the London Scala. They must be famous if they could afford that place."

"Oh." Jamie looked at the two of us and started to scribble again, warily. He ran out of things to suggest.

Damon picked up after him, "Destiny, I think you've got this whole thing wrong." He picked up some cards and raised his bet. "You should be happy that Gorillaz is getting so famous, other bands want to befriend you. I mean, you've only released two singles and the album isn't even out yet."

"Yeah, but- I can't help but have this strange feeling…like they are just mooching off us or something." My mind started to flash to Destiny and 2-D in the lobby, kissing. "Like they want to take something from us, even though we had it first." I glared into the middle distance. I was speaking in plurals on purpose.

Damon shrugged, "Well, you're gonna be hanging out with lots of celebrities pretty soon and you can't go in just hating everyone. Besides, if these girls really want something that's your's, then they can't get it if its truly your stuff." Damon paused. "Besides even if you fall, we'll always be here to back you up. We care about you, Destiny, but you can't hole up here at Kong while your friends are out partying. At least go try to be friendly."

"Yeah. Go bask in the fame, too!" Jamie smirked again, looked at his cards and showed. "Double aces and a Jack."

I once again looked at my cards and frowned. I hadn't one good hand. "I fold."

"Full house," Damon said, laying them out on the table.

"Bull!" Jamie screamed and flew across the table to wrestle Damon to the floor.

I guess I agreed with Damon. Especially since I was happy for all the positive fame Gorillaz was getting deep down. And despite neither of them knowing about my metaphor to my crush on 2D, I felt a lot better about it. And as soon as Damon and Jamie finished, I walked the two to the door

Right as the Gorillaz jeep pulled up.

"Hey, mates!" Jamie greeted and chatted with the group for a while about coming back next Monday to see about all the reviews for the night before he and Damon went off.

I counted off the heads and everyone was home, but one. "Hey, Russel…" I started cautiously. "Who's gone? I mean, where's 2D?"

"He and Destiny got into this really deep conversation about all this 'finding their soul mate' and 'marriage' crap and stayed behind to talk it out. It was so stupid," Russel said, rolling his white eyes. "The conversation got so mushy that the rest of us just decided to leave. It was getting late anyway." He kissed the top of my head and started to walk off to his room. I just stood there and stared off into the night. "Destiny, are you coming to bed?"

"Nah," I mumbled. "I think I'll wait for 2D to get home safe." And Russel left without giving it another thought.

I couldn't believe it. Del must have lied. The two were getting so serious so fast, I just couldn't believe it. I was so numb, yet I started to shake. Just when I started to feel good about this whole band interaction junk and I start to lose 2D to her. Everything that Damon and Jamie talked to me about that night just rolled right off of me, leaving behind a lonely, cold feeling. It was so unbelievable. I just couldn't stand there and wait for him. I went up to bed, feeling more miserable than ever. And I didn't fall asleep until what seemed like hours later.

* * *

The press in the following week had not been so kind. Damon and Jamie came early the next Monday (having played the show on a Saturday night), with multiple newspaper reviews, magazine clippings, and daytime talk show listings. Many wrote of the great entertainment in our mediocre performance, but no real satisfaction afterwards. Some felt that it was a wonderful performance, but not worth the ticket price. Others had the audacity to write of how Gorillaz was apparently making Destiny Brooks a talent-less showgirl for a failing band. Someone even went so far as to state Gorillaz was a made-up side project for Damon Albarn and he'll wake up two years later in a fetal position from the horrid memory.

"Funnily enough, though…" Murdoc commented. "that as his column gets smaller and smaller, the bloat gets fatter and fatter. Looks like he's eating his own words, if you ask me, eh? Righ'? Righ'?"

Noodle, however, took it personally. "No like Gorillaz band-o," she muttered, dropping the magazine in limp hands.

I patted her back in comfort. "Well, since Gorillaz is so successful in all the other areas, it was only a matter of time for the press to find some way to de-glorify us. Right, Murdoc?"

"Who cares what they think? We belted out a rooooockin' performance! I say we celebrate! Let's go on a road trip! To Vegas! But ain't nobody touch my car, no, no! I waxed that baby like lickedy-split!"

I stared at Murdoc with an incredulous look. He sounded loopier than 2D after he watched a Freakazoid marathon. His eye twitched more than it normally does and his hands and leg were shaking.

Damon asked, "Murdoc, are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, you've got bags under your bags, mate," Jamie sneered. I looked and he was right. Murdoc wasn't sleeping.

"Oh no, totally! Actually, yes! I'm not okay and I don't car- Jimmy cracked corn and I don't care- **I HAVEN'T SLEPT FOR A WHOLE WEEK!**" This was followed by the shrill cackling laugh that Murdoc does sometimes. He was hitting his wall. "Like I said, celebration- and this Cuuuuuban coffee beans are great! Hey, who wants to go jogging, eh? I'll race yo-" Just as Murdoc took his first step, he tripped. And before he fell to the ground, his eyes were shut and he was fast asleep.

Damon was the first to get up and checked his pulse. "Well, he's not dead," he stated. Then Jamie got up and threw the sleeping Murdoc over his shoulder. "We'll take him to bed. Why don't you go retrieve Russel from the kitchen and we'll meet you in the theatre for the Channel 9 review?"

"Okay. Noodle, will you go show them where the Winnie is?" I threw her the ring of keys I constantly steal so she could get in. She saluted me and led Damon by his hand. Then Damon, in a cheeky way, took Jamie's free hand and he groaned. "I gotta go get my laptop first, though. Be there in fifteen."

"Hurry uuuuuuuuup!" Jamie yelled at me from down the hall. I roll my eyes and hit the button on the elevator to go up to the first (actually second) floor. But the sound of 2-D's voice made me jump; I forgot he was in the lobby with us.

"Deaftiny," he asked, stretching his long, ungainly legs. He was wearing jeans that were too short on him and exposed his ankles. He was also wearing a light green t-shirt with a robot on it, which contrasted my red and white stripped one. "Do you fink it's strange tat I'm on teh cover of tis magazine?"

I turned my head, confused, and surely enough he was holding up a magazine with a picture of him on the cover beside his face. The word 'HOT!' was in big red letters along with the title '2D: Gibbon* it large'. I turned my head back and gritted my teeth. I really wanted to be mad at him still. "No, 2-D. It's not weird at all."

"But look 'ere!" 2D quickly crossed the room as the elevator doors opened and as I turned around to see what he was doing, he pressed the magazine to my face. I backed up, entering the elevator, and he followed me in. The doors closed. "I don' even know wot 'gibbon' means- Do you? I mean, when I asked Murdoc, he just laughed, but-"

I cut him off by pushing away the papers and twisting away from him. I put on an air of not caring by hitting the second floor button and staring at the doors, readying myself to leave when they opened. The sooner, the better. "I don't know what it means, 2-D. I'm just a kid." 'Story of my life,' I thought to myself.

In the reflection of the chrome in the elevator, I saw 2D frown. I could feel it boring into my back. He knew I was mad at him. Or onto it. "Love, is sumfink wrong? You don' seem like yourself lately."

"I'm fine, 2D. Nothing's wrong." I really wanted to tell him off. Tell him what was getting under my skin and stop doing it. But I promised Del I wouldn't. 'Boy, do I regret it right now,' I thought. "Just don't worry about me. I don't need it. I'm a big girl now."

"But…you're my Love," 2D said, quietly. It made me feel a little guilty for ignoring him. The sound of the magazine falling to the floor was coupled with the feeling of 2-D's arms wrapping around my stomach. His head pressed to my back and it felt my spine was on fire. "I don' want you to be upset. I always worry about you and if some fink's wrong, I want you to tell me. Please tell me."

I felt like spinning around and hugging him back, but reality doesn't work like that. I couldn't just give in so easily when all he would do is judge me. I'm a twelve-year-old; it couldn't be. 'Besides he's lying,' I thought. 'I'm not his "love". Destiny is. He makes me so angry. I don't want to even talk about this. I don't want to even think about it. True love couldn't be so cruel as to make me fall for someone so unattainable. And he's horrible for flaunting it in my face and then acting like there's nothing wrong. I just gotta get over this damn crush.'

My thoughts were eventually voiced as I said with clenched teeth and fists, "It'll be fine, Stuart, if you just leave me alone." Great. I just called him his full name. I'm definitely mad at him now. "You can't help that I'm upset. In fact, you just make it worse. Whenever you're around, I just want to blow up! I can't stand the way you make me feel!" I didn't notice when I broke away from 2-D, but I was across the elevator by now. And 2D's arms were gently reaching out to me, left over from when I broke away. His face was twisted in pain, but all I could think about was how it was just a reflection of all the times I was hurt by him and Destiny.

"Deaftiny…" 2D almost whispered meeting my eyes, but I showed no mercy which was probably not a good thing to do. He took a moment to look away, shook his head slightly, and met my eyes again. I could see clear tears filling the corners of his eyes. "I've known you for so long…why now?"

The bell rang and the elevator doors opened. I stared into his eyes a little longer before saying, "I can't tell you, Stuart. So just leave me alone while I figure out how to deal with…whatever." The bell rang and I turned to storm out. 2D didn't follow me, but he stared at me as I left. When I reached the corridor, I closed the door and leaned against it, exasperated. My chest felt like it was collapsing in. I tilted my head back and whispered, "Be still. For once just be still."

The familiar blue gas seeped in through the floorboards. He was harder to see in in the daylight. "Happy now?" He asked, but his lips didn't form the words. His face was in a permanent scowl as though the words came to me telepathically.

I glared at him, dropped my hand, and walked on. I didn't say a word. Just shook my head and walked through him. He dissipated and I didn't see him again.

2-D didn't show up in the theatre to watch the Channel 9 review. He didn't show up for the rest of the night either. 2D just stayed in the basement for the rest of the week, coming out only for Murdoc's chores and basic cartoon functions. He became a shell of his former self.

* * *

One day, the band went to the town for their own purposes. Murdoc went for booze, 2D on grocery shopping (as told to do so by Murdoc), and Russel took Noodle and I out to shop for a new summer wardrobe. It was wonderful weather and we went out to a plaza with various small boutiques. Noodle traded her heavy tan jacket for a short-sleeved tie-dye shirt and jeans that matched her blue helmet. I wore khaki capris and a long-sleeved pink shirt, but I bunched up the sleeves. My bangs were braided and clipped back too, because Noodle thought it would be fun and wouldn't stop screaming until I let her. Even Russel wore some shorts today.

When Russel went to pay for the clothes, he gave Noodle and I money to get something to eat. While standing in line at a pretzel stand, Noodle had on a very sly look. I became suspicious.

"Why the look, Noodle?" I asked in Japanese to keep the conversation somewhat private.

"You've changed," she said back in Japanese. This took me back a step. I didn't really think of this whole thing with 2-D would affect Noodle or any of my other band mates. But she went on, "Is it because of performing again? Do you not like performing with Gorillaz as much as you do by yourself?"

"No, no!" I corrected, for I could tell Noodle took my mood swing personally. "It's not the band, at all, especially not you. It's not anybody's fault but mine. And I'm taking care of what I can. Trust me, I'll make things back to normal soon." I was as vague about my answer and picked my words carefully.

Noodle seemed to notice. "You aren't telling me what's wrong. I want to know. I want to help." I was silent. The line here seemed to never move.

Finally Noodle said, "2-D hasn't come out of his room in a week." My heart swelled and collapsed again. "He won't talk to me. When I asked him, 'what's wrong?' he says, 'I lost my Love.' Do you know why? Because I know that he calls you 'Love' a lot. Did you two fight?" Noodle looked at me with innocent eyes. The kind that makes a grown man cry. She was so unknowing.

I sighed deeply and told her, "Look, Noodle, 2D and I are having some…friend problems. Well- that is- I'm having some problems with him friend-wise."

"Like what?" Noodle asked before I could finish.

My face turned red a little. I could feel it. "Like, er…I just don't want to hang out with him as much anymore. It's getting…difficult."

"Difficult?" Noodle gasped, "Do you have a crush on 2-D?" She bounced in the air so high, I had to grab her feet to calm her down. I kept shushing her cause we were getting weird looks. I was actually more surprised than anything that she even guessed right on the first try.

"Be quiet, Noodle! Don't cause a scene! Please, it's embarrassing!" I held her shoulders down and realized we were next to order. I asked for a large pretzel and Noodle, a hotdog and we decided to split a soda. When we got our food, we started to walk back to the store where Russel was. I went on in Japanese as we walked the streets, "Yes, there's a small, girlish part of me that likes 2-D, but there's no part of me that wants to pursue it. After all, he's my best friend…well, best guy friend. And-"

"It's okay, Destiny. I understand exactly what you're going through," Noodle responded in her tongue, sipping from the soda afterwards.

At that moment I realized that Noodle was also keeping something from me. And it was hurting her. I asked her, "Is everything okay with you, Noodle? You also don't seem to be yourself lately."

Noodle looked at me with a surprised expression. "Oh, there's nothing wrong. I've just been, er…anxious? About the Gorillaz band. It's going to be a very exciting lifestyle."

"Yes, it will."

She was quiet for a while. Then Noodle said humbly, "I think it will take me some getting used to. Surely, Murdoc, 2D, Russel, and yourself are familiar with the 'rock star' lifestyle, but I don't have any background like all of you seem to have."

I thought about that. It's true that everyone in the band had some kind of musical history, but Noodle only remembered how she came about Gorillaz in a FedEx box. "Do you mean, you're excited?" I paused. "Or intimidated?"

Noodle swallowed a mouthful of her hotdog and shrugged. "A little of both. But I guess it's normal when you don't know much about music."

I thought again. "You know, after you and Russel went back to Kong from Jamaica, Murdoc and I got in some kinda fight about our musical knowledge…it really made me realize that none of know about each other's backgrounds. Where we grew up, what our family was like, how we learned to play our instruments-"

"-Or childhood!" Noodle said. "You and I are the only kids in Gorillaz; we're growing up with them. But they are not the same; they grew up differently."

"Hey, yeah!" I agreed. "We should ask them about that. Get some band bonding in." Noodle agreed with me right as we walked into Russel. We were told that 2-D and Murdoc were waiting for us by the car, so we could go home. After much arguing over who got to drive, we were soon speeding down the highway with Noodle between 2D and I in the back, and Russel driving with a stubbornly sour Murdoc in the passenger seat. With the roof down- not only tossing our hair all over the place- we were having a hard time hearing one another without screaming.

"Why doesn't 2-D ever drive?" Noodle asked, curiously. I translated for her, but I wasn't happy about addressing 2D. He looked at me with a glimmering hope in his eye. I refused to meet it.

"'Cause we don't trust him with you or Noodle's life in a one ton deathtrap," Russel explained. He didn't mean for it to be hurtful, but 2D was hurt.

"Or _my_ life!" Murdoc twisted in seat and jabbed his thumb at his chest.

"I'm a wonderful driver…" 2D mumbled.

"And I'm Willy Wonka," Murdoc, sarcastically.

Noodle screamed something over the wind and everyone cringed from it. Murdoc turned his head to me, "What's she goin' on about now?"

"Er, Noodle and I just wanna know…" I indulged in them in the post-2D related chat Noodle and I had. "So we thought it could be like a band bonding thing."

"NO," Murdoc said firmly. "N-O. It was all in the contract when you first signed on, remember? I get rights to privacy-"

"Only when I do, yeah, yeah." I rolled my eyes. "In case you've forgotten, _I_ was the one who wanted that. And you all know pretty well about my childhood and history, so it's only fair for me to know about you, Murdoc! An eye for an eye."

"Actually," Russel said, not taking his eyes off the road. "I think it's a great idea that Destiny and Noodle came up with. And she's right, Murdoc. It's only fair." He said the last part in a sort of You'll-be-a-part-of-this-like-it-or-not-or-I'll-break-your-nose-again way.

"Please, Mudsy. I'm only asking for you to share a little."

Murdoc was stunned. He looked from Russel to me, then smirked in a I've-taught-you-to-be-sneaky-well-and-I-couldn't-be-prouder way and was like so until we got home. After some quick unpacking, the five of us gathered in the kitchen (since the boys haven't eaten yet and were starving) and sat around the table.

"So…" I said, trying to break the silence. "Band bonding…" It was so quiet! "So, who wants to go first?"

"Well," Murdoc folded his hands behind his head, kicking his heels onto the table. "I had a fairly rough childhood, I hated my family and the feelings were mutual, and I went to public school and it was there that I suffered constant bullying and ridicule. Is that what you were looking for?" He leaned in his chair too far and fell backwards. Smoooooth.

I jumped out of my seat to help him up. "Bullied?" I asked. "Why?"

"Because; Humanity hates geniuses." He waved away my hand and stood up, reclaiming his seat.

"Why didn't you do something about it?" Russel asked then, liking the band bonding.

"I did. I yelled so much at that punk one time, though, it didn't really go through his meaty skull. But I still stuck up for myself; I'm proud of that."

"So why didn' you tell the principull?" 2D asked, an ever-long victim of Murdoc's childhood bullying. "Or your mum or your dad?"

"Weren't you listening, numbskull!" Murdoc yelled at him. "My whole _school_ hated me! As for parents, well, my dad was a drunk and me mum-" Murdoc hesitated. He never hesitates. There was silence amongst us as we waited respective- and anxiously for Murdoc to continue with his rant.

But he didn't. He just quietly said, "-well…Let's just say I never got to liking her. End of my stories."

"But Murdoc-"

"No buts! You said all I had to do was share a little!" Murdoc took out some cigarettes and stood out on the balcony. The breeze picked up and tossed his hair. Very quickly, I could see that Murdoc's eyebrows were pulled together.

'In sadness?' I wondered, squinting to maybe see better. But the vision went away just as fast as it came and Murdoc's scowl was back in place.

Meanwhile, Noodle was egging on 2-D to go next. At first, all we could get was, "I dunno. My chil'ood wos pritty nice." But then he announced, "Well, one time I bunked off school when I wos eleven to wotch _American Werewolf_ in London, a _Fang Face_ cartoon, and _Zombies_,_ Dawn of the Dead_ on my mate's Betamax**. I wos so scared, tat I rode my bike home, crying all the way." I was kind of sad for 2D. But I didn't have to think too long on it as Noodle asked more questions.

One being, "Why blue?" and she pointed to his head.

I also pondered this before, but kept forgetting to ask. After all, even Stuart from the piano shop when I first met 2-D had blue hair, but his eyes were normal.

I eagerly listened as he gathered some of his bangs in two fingers and stared at the clump. "Well, there wos this big oak tree in front of my mum and dad's. And one day, I fell from it and gonked me head. All my hair fell out and it just…came…back…blue."

"That's weird," Noodle said in English and pulled on a few strands of hair. 2-D flinched and Russel pulled the girl into his lap, lecturing her not to do that.

"Anything else, 2D?" I asked, scornfully.

He looked at me again with agonizing, fleeting hope, but I didn't budge. He shook his head softly and lowered it.

"Okay." We all tuned to Russel next. "Your turn! What is your background like?"

Russel smiled sheepishly and shifted in his seat. "Gee, there's nothin' really interestin' about me. Maybe Noodle should go."

She shook her head violently. "NO!"

"Yeah, Russel." 2D was just as eager to hear his story now. "We already know Noodle can't rememba anyfing from before she came outta teh box, so you hafta go!"

"Yeah, you're from the U.S., you're foreign, tell us of your background!" I begged, too.

Russel looked flattered and flustered at the same time. "Well there's not much to tell; I grew up in Brooklyn, went to a private school, then I moved and went to public school where I met my crew. And they got me into hip-hop. That's it, really."

"Well, how'd you meet Del?" I asked. "Or your eyes turned white?"

"How Del die?" Noodle blurted. I looked at her incredulously.

"It's a'ight, Destiny." Russel moved Noodle on his lap more and continued while looking at nothing in particular, "I don't really remember exactly how we met, but it was when I was in public school. He was heavy into hip-hop, and I was curious. He took me in; even taught me the drums. Del was truly my soul mate.

"One night, we were all hanging in Del's car, going late at night to a 7-Eleven. There was a car that pulled up next to us- a big black humvee with its windows tinted…one rolled down and an Uzi barrel poked through. They gunned down everyone in the car…Del died instantly…everyone else just kind of went apart from me…for some reason, the bullets never hit me."

By now, Russel's voice in a slow drawl. His tine was deep and thick with memory. He went on with heavy drama, "Next thing I knew, everyone's spirits just flew outta their bodies and went into mine. Like curtains into a vacuum. It was like they were attracted to me. Just one after another; Bam! Bam! Whoosh, bam! Each one just hitting me…

"When it was all done, my eyes were white- I think it was by the possession…and I was full of so much knowledge about music. But the loss of Del, everyone in the car…they were all his friends. My friends…they'll stay with me forever."

There was a moment where we all apologized to Russel, but he didn't seem too permanently scarred by anything. It made me really respect him because even though he went through so much death, he could move on and know it wasn't his fault. Not like I had when I blamed myself for Derrick's death. Russel was stronger than me like that.

"What about you, child?" Russel asked. I looked at him quizzically. "Well, aren't you American too? Can you remember anything before you and Derrick went on tour; what it was like?"

I paused. I didn't think I had to share anything. I was unprepared. "Well…I am American. Derrick always reminded me of that…he was always bigger than me. Even before we started to tour. Because he's older by a few minutes, I guess, so I was like the baby of the family." I thought. "I don't remember what my parents looked like, but they loved us both. He was always sure to tell me that too…but I don't remember too much of what it was like before touring. I guess I was too young. All I remember is that we were born talented and we didn't really have to learn like everyone else does."

"So what _is_ the earliest memory you have?" Russel asked.

My eyes searched the table as though the answer would be written on it somewhere. "I remember…giving Derrick confidence speeches backstage of his first concert…we were five…I remember when we met Martoche…and…I remember walking out of my bedroom one night in my pajamas…and I walked outside onto the front porch. When I opened the door, my mom saw me and she smiled. And we just sat out there on a swinging bench, enjoying the breeze, and I kept my head on her chest. I don't remember what she looks like…but she was beautiful. And I was really happy." And I was happy from the memory. Especially since I remembered something about my parents.

But suddenly, we heard Murdoc burst out in laughter and he was leaning over the railing for support. Between cackles he said, "That's the most pathetic thing I ever heard in my **life**!" and continued to laugh.

I don't know if it was Murdoc's making fun of my lone recollection of family, my ill feelings towards 2D this past week, or a combination of the two, but I felt anger boil inside me and I glared at him from across the room. I rose to my feet, and slammed my hands on the table. "You know what, Murdoc? At least my mom and I got along!"

Russel rose from his seat saying my name like he was about to lecture me, but I ran out of the room and retired to mine. I laid in my bed, without changing clothes, and tried to block out Murdoc's laughter with replaying the memory in my head over and over until I fell asleep.

At least I knew I had a family.

* * *

That night, in all the darkness, I saw a light glowing behind my eyelids. I turned onto my back and lifted them to see Del's floating head in front of me.

"**It's time."**

I knew exactly what he meant; I was going to change the course of history at that moment. My eyes flew open, only to see a bright white engulf my body and I soon felt like I was floating. The bed and sheets weren't around me anymore and I was moving really fast. In fear, I screamed. I couldn't see where I was going or if Del was still beside me, but I felt like I was being transported somewhere.

I just didn't know where.

* * *

**OH MY GOSH! So, I put a * after some stuff,**

***Gibbon: The name of a small, skinny ape with long ungainly arms. This is compared to 2-D.**

****Betamax: A sort of VCR that you could watch home movies on**

**I hate to end on a cliffhanger, but the next two chapters will be of Destiny and Del's adventure. So, it's kind of a story within a story thing...um, See ya next time! Review and send me messages if you want, la la la. I'll also post more pictures soon on my Deviantart of Del and Destiny xD**


	22. Demon Days Chapter 22

**Me: I am so tired of writing this already -.-**

**Murdoc: Then stop. D:**

**Destiny: NO! If she stops, then I won't exist anymore! D:  
**

**Murdoc: I BEG you. Stop. Writing.**

**Me: Sorry, Muds. Will take more than that to make me leave :3**

**2D: So wot did you write tis time, Shamin? :3**

**Me: Er, my name is Shannon.**

**2D: Tat's wot I said; Shamin.**

**Destiny: Why are you saying her name weirdly? -.-?**

**2D: Wot do you mean, Deaftiny?**

**Destiny and I: -.-**

**Anyway, I've been working out all the kinks and bugs of this chapter for so long, posted my little teasers on deviantart, found the perfect Destiny-human-rl- thingy, and finally I got some 8000 words out of it. I just want to point out that I have been posting a lot on deviantart and you should check it out. As for the storyline of this chapter, well...it's a little sub-story-ish. And I was considering not putting it in, but-**

**Murdoc: GET ON WITH IT!  
**

**Fine. Here it is.**

* * *

The next thing I knew, the white light focused into a new setting. I was standing (on shaky legs, but nonetheless standing) beside a large brick wall, alone. But I wasn't concerned with my surroundings at the moment. I wasn't being thrust backwards anymore, but it left behind a very sick feeling. I folded my hands over my stomach, but they never hit it.

My hands floated through my body!

"AAAAH! What the- ?" I looked at them and, not only was my hands practically see through, but they were also gray. There wasn't any color in my arms, legs, or clothes either! And when I looked around, the community's once bright tints were dulled gray too. The trees, grass, sky- everything looked like it was pastel colors!

"Sweet ghost of Hamlet!" I screamed and rubbed my eyes. Nope, I was really seeing it.

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint-" A voice said behind me and I jumped. It was Del floating next to me, bright blue in color that contrasted to the rest of the world. "-but I believe it was Hamlet's dad who was the ghost."

I screamed at him.

"What's wrong?" He asked like nothing was wrong.

I shoved my hands through him and screamed. Then I shoved my hands through me and screamed. And in a crescendo of gesticulating, I threw my hands about myself...and screamed.

"Despite your lack of words, which I believe we went over how you should start using them, you mean 'you're a ghost, now I'm a ghost too, why and where am I?'" I nod. "Because you cannot be seen when you jump the way you just did. It's against the rules of the undead. As for where we are…well, go find out." Del winked.

I looked around again, but it was hard to focus on the detective work since I was still practically see-through. "Well before I start that, can you fix me please?"

"Relax, it wears off eventually." He smiled, "See?"

And he was right. Soon the sick feeling away and my fingertips started to become solid and it went up my arms and down my body like so. As the solid feeling was sent through me, my clothes started to change into a schoolgirl's uniform. It consisted of a dark gray shirt with a red tie, skirt, knee-high socks, and black, ugly dress shoes. My hair also braided itself into two long pigtails that were held by little red bows. But I was most concerned with my brother's hat. "Hey, where's my-"

Del held it in his hand and smiled at me. "Don't worry. I'll take good care of it."

"Thanks, but why do I need the new threads?" I asked him, playing with the tie around my neck.

"To blend in," Del smirked and floated to the side of the building. I followed him.

"What is this place?" I asked.

"Go find out," He said and disappeared.

At first, I panicked because I didn't want to be alone. But then I turned around and faced the literal gray world, not really concerned with my loneliness.

Around the brick wall were school kids, and lots of them; running around, talking to one another, all dressed in the same outfit as I was. I walked out cautiously and tried to blend in, which was hard given the fact that they were all obviously younger and much shorter than me. They must have been ten or so.

"Excuse me!" A girl with a heavy and gross-sounding accent almost screamed at me. I jumped in slight fear of being exposed. "Do you want a copy?"

I saw that she was holding out a newspaper to me and I exhaled the breath that I had apparently been holding. "Thank you…?"

"Tell your friends," She ordered and walked off screaming like the papergirl she is.

'What a rude little girl,' I thought and started to unfold it. There was only one reason why I took it and that was to find out where I am. 'Local news, local- HOLY!' I caught glance at the date at the top of the page.

It read June 25th, 1976.

'I'm…' I did some quick math. 'I'm 25 years in the past! Okay, don't panic. Just think…where am I? And why?' I looked at a page and it read Sodsworth Comprehensive School. 'Okay, so _where_ I am means nothing to me. Um…who do I know that was in grade school in the 1970s?'

I couldn't think any longer because a boy **much** smaller than me ran by and yelled, "C'mon! Tony Chopper is gonna beat up that Niccals kid at the flagpole!"

My eyes bugged out. "I'm sorry; could you repeat that last part?" 'Please tell me I heard wrong,' I kept praying. 'Please please plea-'

"Niccals!" He yelled again. "Little Murdoc Niccals!"

Oh no. Murdoc's constant bullying. 'That was what he told us about in the kitchen last night…rather- a night twenty five years or so in the future!' I thought as I ran after the small kid.

The school kids now gathered around the flagpole in a big circle with enough room for the two boys to duke it out. All were chanting, "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" for the intensity was eating away at them.

On my left, there was what could easily be confused for as an ape. I instantly assumed this was the Tony Chopper the boy was telling me about before. His school uniform barely fit him, his shoes were roughed up and dull- probably from how often he would kick someone-, and his arms were wider than my body. He was ugly too; a ginger of sorts, but with a fat nose and a haircut that made his head look big.

Then on my right was Murdoc. Well, a **much** younger version of him, anyway. It was weird to call him Murdoc, because he looked more like a little Murdoc with a lower case "l". His bowl haircut was more like a bowl afro and hid his eyes more than the future Murdoc's hair did. His nose, although still crooked, actually looked normal and not so bent.

Everyone was cheering for Tony. But only I went to Murdoc's side.

"Murdoc!" I screamed like an over-protective mother seeing her child with drugs in hand. He looked at me and stared. For a second, I thought it was because he recognized me. Then, I remembered; 'Oh yeah. Little Murdoc wouldn't know who I am because we haven't met yet! I can't just go and run up to little Murdoc, calling him by name, and freaking him out! It'll affect the future in a bad way.' I was about to correct myself, "Er, I mean-"

"Who the 'ell 're you?" The pint-sized Murdoc asked. His voice was higher-pitched and child-like, but still gruff and had the edge that the Murdoc from my time had.

"I'm, er…" I tried to think of some kinda fake name like in spy movies, but couldn't so I gave up. "Well, that doesn't matter! What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm gonna show this arse who's boss, of course!" little Murdoc said and punched the air like he was boxing. Some kids laughed and others yelled to "get on with it!".

"'re we gonna do tis er wot?" Tony Chopper asked and cracked his knuckles. The sickening sound made me grimace in his direction.

"Or what!" I yelled for little Murdoc and dragged him a little farther from the fight circle. Surprisingly, he was easy to push around. The fact that he was a head shorter than me made it all the easier. "I ask you again; what do you think you are doing? That kid is five times your size! No- that kid five times _my _size!"

Little Murdoc broke out of my grip and jabbed his thumb at his chest saying, "I'm sick a'im pushin' me aroun'! I'm done- I'm gonna show tat nob a one-two!" He bounced around like a boxer again and started the punch.

I held down his shoulders and stared daggers into his eyes, "Violence is not the answer, little Murdoc, it's just that I-"

"'ow d'you know me name?" Little Murdoc asked. "D'you 'ave a crush on me er somethin'?" He stuck out his tongue in a disgusted way. This was weird for me because I was used to him being such a ladies man. I guess little Murdoc wasn't a ladies boy.

"Ew no," I said, equally disgusted. "But just cause you throw some punches, it'll change anything? He'll still bully you and you'll get hurt!"

"So wot?" little Murdoc burst out of my hold again and balled his fists at his sides. "So wot if he keeps bullyin' me? Who cares? Nob'dy, that's who! So _I_ gotta defend meself! Only I can stop 'im from hurtin' me and if I carn', at least I'm doin' somethin' about it unlike these other deadheads!

"And who're you to tell me otherwise?" Little Murdoc accused. "I don' even _know_ you!"

I was moved. Had I been little Murdoc's guidance counselor at the time, I'd advised him to be a political speaker or a lawyer. Murdoc has/had wit and creative schemes and that's what made me speechless. Surely if it had been directed to Tony Chopper-

Then it hit me.

There was no time for speechlessness. Little Murdoc just called me out and I had to tell him otherwise. It was the least I could do for my guardian of the future. "I'm a friend, little Murdoc. And I don't want you to get hurt. Besides, you're really not that strong and that guy is huge. If you were to have any strengths that you'd want to fight him with, I'd say to use your words. Cause trust me, that was-"

But little Murdoc didn't let me finish as he stormed off, back towards his opponent. I felt like I had just failed him and failed my task for being here. I wondered if Del would give me a do-over, but for now, all I could do was race after him and try to pull his scraps away after the battle.

The two squared off and went at it. Tony hit little Murdoc across the face a few times and everyone cheered as he did. Then little Murdoc would try to punch him back, but he was poorly built and looked like it hurt him more each time. I couldn't watch most of it, but when I did once, I saw him get kicked to the ground and I said again, "C'mon Murdoc! Use your wit! Beat him down with your words!"

It was my words or the protracted period of bullying that finally struck little Murdoc and made him round onto Tony Chopper. He inhaled a deep breath and unleashed a long speech so filthy in words and rudeness about his persecutor, which even a bar of soap shoved into his pie hole couldn't clean. The children around me gasped and I hung my head in what was a mixture of shame and pride. Typical Murdoc. He was now a man.

The speech climaxed at, "**And **_**you**_**, sir, will always be a useless bloated backward waste of space who would probably end up getting a job holding up 'For Sale' signs on the corners of streets, **_**only**_** to then himself get fired and replaced by a bucket of soil.**" Silence hung in the air and I hung my head once again with a long sigh. Tony Chopper looked steaming. "A pissed monkey would stand a better chance in life."

WHAM! POW! BASH!

Tony's fist connected to little Murdoc's face and he was sent flying. Blood gushed from his nose and the children cheered for their harrying hero.

"Murdoc!" I screamed after him and rushed to his mangled body on the sidewalk. I bent over at his side and reached out to him, but I stopped. I can see through my hand again. Nobody saw me as I ran to him and Tony completely ignored me as he continued to pummel the small boy's face, his fists going past my translucent face. I was a phantom once more.

* * *

Of course, little Murdoc's fight hadn't fazed him at all for he was too proud of himself. He skipped merrily down the sidewalk from Sodsworth Comprehensive School- the blood rolling down from his further broken nose- and hummed a happy tune. Not that he could see me, but I was walking in pace with him at his side and talked mindlessly to him.

"You know," I said to him as though he could hear me. "That was pretty reckless of you and even more stupid. I can't believe you said all that to his face! When I said 'use your wit' I meant- like, be persuasive and talk him out of beating you up. But, nooooo- you just had to stand up for yourself and defend your so-called pride." little Murdoc skipped on, still unable to hear me. "Man, what I'd give to argue with you like I would with your _real_ self."

"That is Murdoc's real self." I screamed in surprise to hear Del beside me. He appeared in all his blue-glory that once again stood out against the dull gray world. "He's matured to that level of manhood on that day."

"Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Appear out of nowhere the way you do!" I bit at him. I was getting really jumpy around Del now for sending me to little Murdoc's time like this.

He just chuckled, "To make me look _mysterious_." He wiggled his fingers for emphasis. "Anywho, do you get what y'all are here for now?"

I glanced back at little Murdoc and Del and said, "I think so. I'm going to be following Murdoc around in his childhood and be like his conscious, I guess? Am I right?"

"Er, not really…" Del said.

I frowned and pulled together my eyebrows. "But isn't that why you had me time-travel to Murdoc's past? It's 1976 after all."

Del sighed and floated beside me so that he was laying with his arms behind me at eye-level. Then he explained, "Well, since you've already begun this whole trip, I guess I can tell you all about what's happening down to every last detail."

"Really? Then tell me already!" I said, excitingly. I was so anxious to hear about what I'm doing.

"Well first of all, these are what we call 'Demon Days'." Del explained, the relaxed smile never leaving his face. "And- like I said before- believe it or not, everything has a way of happening (a destiny, if you will) and sometimes people don't always do things according to plan because of the way of they act, or how they were raised, etc.

"Since this breaks the shape of how everything will turn out, we spirits are sometimes sent to change these destinies for people whether it's by doing it ourselves, or making someone alive to do it for us depending on the circumstances of what needs to be changed. In this case, I'm sent to look after and guide you to change the destiny.

"Now usually it's just something small, like two people bumping into one another and falling in love, or giving Neil Armstrong a spaceship as a kid and that makes him want to go to the moon-"

"Ghosts are responsible for-?"

"But in this case," Del went on, ignoring my outburst. "It's a little extreme…as you can see." Del gestured to the world around me.

I took a minute to soak it all in. "So in order to change something about Murdoc, I had to time-travel?"

Del started to laugh and scoffed at my suggestion. "Time-travel! You're still stuck on that! Girl, y'all 're crazy!"

"Oh, sure! Time-travel is insane, but this isn't!" I gestured rapidly around me. "I mean, what is all this then?"

"This is called a 'Cloud of Unknowing.' Where we are, what time it is, and everyone you see is all a memory of Murdoc's. This is exactly how Murdoc remembers his childhood." I guess that explained why everything was colored the way it was. It must be a really fuzzy and old memory for Murdoc.

"So, I'm in, like, Murdoc's brain?"

"Not exactly. This is a reel of how Murdoc became who he is without him realizing it. Thus, the title." Del explained as if it was obvious. "You are what we spirits like to call 'the Tweaker'. Because you are tweaking his memory and childhood, get it?"

I scoffed, "You expect me to buy this?"

"Look around you, Destiny." Del said, smiling. "What do you see now?"

I did take a look around, and marveled at what I saw. What was once the bleak and miserable scenery developed into a less bleak and shadowy memory. The streets were nicely paved and little Murdoc's clothing wasn't as faded as it once was. Del was right; Murdoc is now remembering this moment as a great day. I even got my color back. "So, because I gave him a kind of motivation speech and believed in him-"

"-now Murdoc's whole day changed…"

"…And now little Murdoc is going to grow up being the short-tempered, yet genius that he is as I know him…!" I pieced together and Del smiled confirming it. "Okay, so that pretty much covers the what, where, when, how, and why, but now who? Is it just going to be Murdoc? Is there more I have to do?"

"Of course. It's not called 'days' (plural) for nothing," Del stretched out his arms and folded them under his chin as if he was being carried along with the wind. "I'm going to be your guide, remember? So, I'm going to be sending you along your Demon Days trial and helping you along. Changing your outfits to better fit the time of that memory, making you a phantom when your job is done, and sending you onto your next demon day, etc. Oh, and you can't tell anyone about this as you're going through. It's against the rules."

I paused. "So that's why I had to wear the uniform at Murdoc's school; to make me seem like just another student and blend in?"

"That's right."

"Then can you make me a little shorter next time? Cause I didn't look like another ten-year-old at all!" Del giggled to himself- though I have no clue why- and agreed to do so. After a few minutes, I was just as small as Murdoc and dressed in one of my everyday outfits again- a white t-shirt with a colorless photo on the front, jeans, and my hat. My hair un-braided itself again and hung around my neck as it was before. "Thank you…by the way, if you can send me to change the course of destinies like you say you can, then when before the demon days trial is over, can you send me back to change Derrick's death? I want to stop him from committing suicide."

I could tell my request was instantly denied once I saw Del frown. "You know I would if I could, but it's against the rules. Tweakers can't change the destinies of those related to them. Not to mention…Derrick's death was just meant to be. Everything would be out of order if I did let you go back and change that." I was silent. "I'm sorry, Destiny."

I gave him a weak smile. "Don't worry. It was a long shot and it didn't hurt to ask…um, do all Tweakers know what they are? That they change destiny the way they do?"

"Nope. Again, this is an extreme situation. It's according to this one trial that I tell you what you're to do." Del explained. I felt special again. "Any _more_ questions, Miss. Inquisitive?"

I stuck out my tongue at him. "Will it always be in Murdoc's Cloud of Unknowing?"

"No. But I can't tell ya who it will be from now on, though it will be pretty obvious when you get there."

"Okay…then, what now?" I asked as I glanced at little Murdoc on my other side. But he was gone. I turned my head back to Del, but he was gone too. Little Murdoc had run up a little further from me and was crossing the street. There were tall, brick buildings that probably stood four stories high that were what seemed to be for housing. Whether they were apartments or actual homes, I didn't know.

It was also a very dilapidated neighborhood and the windows were covered with two-by-fours and some doors were blocked off. Posters, newspapers, flyers, and other liter were strewn in the streets and walls and little Murdoc was running to the one that looked the closest to falling apart. I tried to go after him, but he entered the door and I stood in the streets waiting for something to happen.

Then, the sun started to move in the sky. It moved towards the east and the moon rose on the other side. Then it did it again, and again, and again- going faster every time until they were a blurred streak in the sky. It stopped when the moon was full and high above my head. The neighborhood was still a wreck, but less than it was before. The streetlamp by the door little Murdoc went in illuminated the porch, but through the cracks of the boards on the windows, nobody was home. And it was raining nonetheless.

I looked down at my hands and they were solid, but my clothes were still from my modern time. I was confused. 'Wait…so if there's no little Murdoc at home…and no clothes for little Murdoc's time…and I'm still here, then who-' Then, I saw a shadowy, sketchy figure and froze. Since this wasn't one of the safest-looking of neighborhoods, I was pretty scared that it might be a ruffian to hurt me so I hid behind the lamppost.

But it wasn't a shadowy, sketchy ruffian, but a shadowy, sketchy woman…with an equally shadowy carriage. She was dressed in dark clothing and a cloak that hid her face, but she was beautiful. Her hair was long and dark and she tucked it behind her ears, but the tips still fell over her shoulders like a waterfall. She looked around in case anybody was on the streets, and wheeled the carriage to little Murdoc's neighboring porch. 'Why is she bringing that there?' I asked myself and tried to step around the post, but she heard my scuffling. I threw myself back behind the lamppost and watched her quickly tuck the parcel together and step down from the porch, disappearing into the night.

She left the carriage on the stoop.

"What is that?" I asked myself quietly and cautiously approached the neighbor's stoop, stepping into the light. Then the carriage did something I'd never expect it to- it 'cooed'. I froze and quickly flung the blanket off the crib. There was a baby inside.

I gasped and stepped backwards for a moment, then ran to little Murdoc's door. There above the door, was a nameplate and it confirmed my earlier suspicions when I read 'Sebastian Jacob Niccals'; Murdoc's father.

"Oh no!" I ran back and looked at the baby. It stared at me with innocent and curious eyes. "You're baby Murdoc and this is the memory of when your mom dropped you off on the doorstep! But wait…it can't be _your_ memory cause you're just a bab- Oh, why am I saying this out loud? You're just a baby!"

Then baby Murdoc's eyes welled up and he started to cry. **LOUDLY**

"Ah! And now you're cryi- I mean-" I started to shush him and rocked the crib, but it didn't work. Baby Murdoc kept going and I had no clue how to stop him. Very cautiously, I picked him up in my arms, carefully holding the back of his neck, and bounced him in my arms. He quieted, but didn't stop.

I started to think aloud again, "Ok, this is stressful. You don't have to be burped, you don't smell bad (thank goodness), and I have nothing to feed you, so- um…" I began to think of ways to make a baby sleep. A lullaby came to me. 'But I don't know any lullabies. So what songs do I know?'

"Um, _it's a sweet sensation, over the dub._" I started to sing in a weary, but quiet voice. "_I wanna a situation, but don't wanna stop. It's the drug store soul boy, over the dub, with the sweetest inspira_- Oh, you've stopped…!"

Baby Murdoc smiled up at me and reached out one tiny hand. I moved him so that I could hold his neck properly, but also let him wrap his tiny fingers around one of mine, and it felt awesome. Baby Murdoc was actually very precious. His eyes were still two different colors (which meant he was born with it) and his nose wasn't wonky at all. It was cute as a button. And his smile pushed up his cheeks so that his eyes gleamed.

I smiled back at him saying, "Aw, hello there! My name is Destiny, you cute little thing, you! Look at how cute you are! With your little button nose and baby smile!" He giggled once. "You're not a menacing baby at all! Look at your hair and little teeth-"

Wait…thick head of black hair…open eyes…responsive behavior…and teeth? Infants aren't born with all of this. He must be months old at least. Which means Murdoc's mom must have tried to take care of him. 'No wonder she leaned over him before-'

"-She does care."

Then I heard a crow squawk in the distance and it made me jump. There was a familiar, mature voice approaching and it belonged to Murdoc. But since Murdoc was a baby in this time, it must have been his father, Sebastian. I didn't want to be caught with his kid on his porch, so I scurried and put baby Murdoc back in his crib and wheeled him over to the right porch step. When I ripped my finger from baby Murdoc's grip, he started to cry again and I wanted to comfort him, but I sadly had to run off behind the lamppost again.

When I looked back to baby Murdoc, the black crow had perched itself onto the handlebar and baby Murdoc was reaching out to it. It looked very inauspicious and Sebastian had to chase away the bird before he brought baby Murdoc inside his house. He checked the street for the owner- but little did he know- he was just that.

A scream erupted from the house and I couldn't help but fall onto the sidewalk from laughing so hard, holding my sides. That is, I would have, but my hands fell through me. I was a ghost again.

Sebastian stormed outside again and looked for some form of prankster about the household. I was grateful to be invisible because Senior Niccals was a scary man, especially when enraged. He walked across the street and in the process walked through me. I felt my body fall apart and float in different directions, then pull itself back to where it's supposed to be.

"Oh…my…god." That was the creepiest and most bone-chilling experience of my life. I shivered and looked behind me, but Sebastian was gone. When I looked forward again, I realized that there wasn't a change in scenery like there was in Murdoc's memory before. I wondered why this was, but I was once again being thrust forwards through time. The white light blurred my vision, then re-focused and everything was blotchy.

I was in a different time period.

* * *

When my eyesight was back, I was looking up at a black night sky. The lamppost was gone, so I was out of the urban area that was Murdoc's hometown. A person walked past me, walking his dog down a sidewalk, and it made me realize that I was watching him past from a bush. I climbed out and watched him go down the suburban street.

My new setting was in a suburban neighborhood at midnight. It was a nice place, although the streetlamps were spread far apart, but it provided just enough light to see with because a dim full moon took care of the rest. It was also generally cool, so I assumed it was springtime. The blacktop of the street was large and lonely, and there were no cars anywhere; it wasn't as gloomy as Murdoc's shady memory, but it was still eerie to be in, nonetheless. I just had to figure out whose Cloud of Unknowing I'm in and when and where I was exactly in their life.

As illegal as it is to tamper with someone else's post, I crossed the blacktop to go to someone's mailbox. I figured, 'since I used the newspaper to figure out where I am last time, I can do the same this time. Besides, I'm a ghost still; nobody will know I'm even here.'

I was proven otherwise when a bike came speeding down the middle of the road and hit me square in the side, sending me flying through the air. 'He hit me,' I thought more surprised than hurt. 'So, I'm not a ghost anymore then.' I realized it did hurt as my hip was on fire in pain. "Ow!"

"Sorry!" The boy who was riding the bike halted to a stop and he sped towards me on foot. Until he came to my side he kept repeating his apology, and helped me up. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry!"

"I'm fine, thanks." He put one hand under my elbow and the other on my back as the mystery boy helped me onto my feet. I hissed when I touched my side, but besides a black and blue mark and a scraped knee, I was fine.

"Are you sure? Are you just saying that?" He asked me, still. "Do you have a concussion?"

I pulled my eyebrows. "Er…a what?" I asked, completely confused. 'Who is this kid?'

"Oh no, maybe you do! But maybe you don't. I should check-! Um…" The boy started to think. "What's today's date?"

'Of all questions?' I asked myself and stuttered as I looked myself over. I hoped my clothes would give away an obvious answer. I realized I wore a black-and-white striped T-shirt that hung off one shoulder. I also had black arm-warmers and leggings that ended to neon baby blue flats. My hair also felt very poofy. Yup; the 1980s'. "I'm in the 80s'?" I asked aloud, smoothing down my hair in the process.

"Oh, no!" The kid yelled. "You don't even know what year it is! You _do _have a concussion! Oh, please don't hurt me; I'm sooo sorry! My mom's gonna kill me for this! I need to go get help- I'm sorry again!" The kid yelled and started to mount his bike again.

'I recognize this kid,' I realize. Not familiar, but I could definitely tell I knew him from somewhere. He was much taller than me and awkward in shape with black hair that stuck out everywhere, matching his blocky black eyebrows. He was good-looking, but his dress was very bland with skinny jeans and a McDonald's T-shirt. Yes, there was definitely something very familiar about him, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

Then it hit me. "WAIT!" I screamed after him before he could leave. When he turned around and stared at me. I lifted my fingers so they could hide the white of his eyes. I could only see black pupils and suddenly it made sense.

This was kid 2D.

"What do you want?" Kid 2D yelled at me. I could see tears welling up in his eyes.

"2-D!" I said, excitingly but he looked at me like I was insane. 2D was the name Murdoc gave to him after he poked his eyes out in the car. This was Stuart Pot. "Er, I mean…Stu!" Wait, how do I know his name? He looked more freaked out than before. "I mean-"

Stu slowly started to put his feet back on the pedals like he was going to push off. "Look, you don't sound right. And you know my name…it's all starting to freak me out and I gotta go. Bye!"

I remember 2-D telling us about this in the kitchen. He was coming back from seeing American Werewolf and Dawn of the Dead in London at his friend's house. That means he must already be scared and was crying before. And my knowing his name making me look like a creepy stalker in a horror movie probably wasn't helping. But how could I explain myself.

Suddenly my gaze fell to the ground where I saw 2-D's- I mean- Stuart's wallet and a lie quickly formulated in my head. "I, um, brought your wallet back to you!" I said, picking it up and holding it out with an extended arm. "And…that's why…I know your name!" I continued quickly. "Because I saw you in the city when you dropped it and followed you! And you looked pretty upset and I checked your I.D., anyway are you okay?"

Stuart patted down his pockets and realized it was his wallet. Cautiously, he walked up to me with bike in hand and took it from me. "Thanks," he mumbled.

I was taken aback. "Whoa, you said 'thanks'!" I was so used to hearing him say 'fanks'. "Say 'something'!"

Stu looked confused. "Like what?"

"'Something!'"

"I don't understand." I thought about it and started to laugh. "What's so funny?"

"I don't mean say 'something' like a word; I mean _the word_ 'something'." I laughed at the vagueness.

"Oh," Stu also started to laugh and smiled. "Something." I was marveled by the way it had a 'th' sound and not '-fink'. "Why?"

"Because," I giggled. "You have great pronunciation. I, er, know this guy who says words funny. He's actually," I added quickly, "the one that got me into zombie films. See any good ones lately?" I hinted.

"Yeah…" Stu cringed, looking down. "I just saw this one called _Dawn of the Dead_. It's a horrible movie. I mean, it was just so scary! Zombies are so creepy and just get in the end- even if you outrun them! And everyone was dead…" Stuart's breathing started to pick up and he looked me in the eye. "What would I do if that really happened?"

I started to freeze up. Not only because I wasn't used to a Stuart from any time afraid of zombies, but also because it was a lot to take in. I just came from a house filled with "macho" guys and a foreign girl who wasn't afraid of anything; someone opening up to me was really…weird.

So I said, "Well, zombies aren't real. And even if they are, I'd be scared too. It's perfectly okay to be scared, I mean they're zombies!" I don't think I was helping. I cleared my throat and this time said, "the point is, is that it's just media. It's fake. And you left to go home, which is the right thing to do when something scares you. I mean, who knows- maybe one day you'll come to like zombie movies." I knew he'll come to like them. "Trust me."

Stuart looked me up and down and sniffled. "You're horrible at cheering people up; You know that right?"

I let out a single chuckle and shrugged. "Sorry." I said. "I haven't had much practice."

Stuart scoffed and stared at me. "Well, thanks anyway. It did work a little...why haven't I seen you before? Do you live around here?"

"Er, not really." I started to look around. There wasn't any tall mountain with Kong nearby. "Actually, I'm not sure when or where I am. I, er...lost my watch. And I moved here recently."

Stuart stuck out his wrist. It was a really fancy watch that gave the date and everything. There was also a pad of numbers on it to do mathematical calculations on it. Yup, pretty nerdy.

It read May 28th, Saturday, 1989 at 1:28 AM.

"Right now," Stuart went on to say. "We're pretty much in Crawley. It's pretty much south of London...I'm actually surprised you followed me all the way out here. Where do you live again?"

"I, er, uh...moved here. Recently, actually," I fibbed as I went along. "My parents are, er, famous. And I'm living with my grandmother now as they, um...tour the world...?" I paused. "So I won't be staying here for long. I probably will move soon, actually."

"Oh, that's cool." Stuart didn't even care that I was famous or not. At least that doesn't change about him. "I like up the road for about another half-hour walk or so and I'm the white house on the right with the big oak in front; Number 24." My eyebrows pulled together and Stuart's cheeks tinted a deep pink in the moonlight. It glowed brightly now. "You know...if you wanna come visit me. Cause I guess we could- you know- have a sleepover or something...I mean, my parents don't mind and I thought-"

As he rambled I gave a weak smile. Stuart was a great kid. He's smart, sweet, and confident, but he was in for a world of pain later. He seemed so innocent- I wished he would just stay that way. It was a shame I probably won't be able to visit him. The Demon Days wait for no one after all. Because I thought it wouldn't hurt, I leaned up to Stuart's cheek and gave it a quick peck.

He stopped talking immediately. "Wha-"

"Thanks, Stu. If I can make it, I'll come visit you someday." I smiled and felt myself turn pink aswell.

Stuart's face turned as red a tomato and touched his cheek lightly. A smile crossed his face and he mounted his bike, about to take off again into the night. He waved goodbye to me and then asked, "Oh wait, I forgot. What's your name? I didn't catch it."

I smiled and said, "Destiny." Then I flinched, for I had used my real name. I wonder if that would affect anything.

Stuart's smile grew and he repeated, "Destiny. What an ironic name...thank you again! And I'm sorry for hitting you." And he disappeared into the night.

The smile stayed on my face and I turned around, looking in the direction from once he came. The lights of London illuminated the sky and the moon brightened the streets around me. There were more cars and streetlamps aswell. This indicated to me that I had done my tweaking successfully and changed 2D's past.

"Del?" I asked. "Del...are you here?" I asked again a little louder. 'I guess he's not comi- Whoa!' I mentally screamed because there Del was, glowing like a night-light as always. "Stop scaring me like that!"

"stop being so easy to scare," Del retorted and asked, "What'dya need?"

"I think I've noticed a pattern in the memories going by," I said, staring off into the distance. "They're going in order by who told what when we were gathered in the kitchen, right?"

Del blinked. "Actually, it was chronological. But if you want, it could be that way."

"Er, okay." Just when I started to feel brilliant. "Also, what is this?" I held up my shirt in my fingers. "This isn't funny!"

"Aw, why not?" Del chuckled. "You look so cute...and retro."

"Whatever, can you just gimmie clothes I like from now on?" Del sighed and regretfully agreed. My clothes went back to normal. "Thank you. NOw, where does 2-D live?"

"Kong Studios, about twelve years into the future," Del said with a tone of utter seriousness...and spite.

I smirked at him, just as sarcastic. "Haha, very funny. Where does Stuart Pot live?"

Del smiled and said, "That's actually our next stop. Want me to show you?"

"Wait, how?" I asked, confused. "Cause you don't have a car, and I don't think-" When the ground left my feet, I stopped talking. A scream caught in my throat and I basically waved my hands about until I could balance and Del smiled as he lifted me a good 25 feet into the air. "What is this?"

"You're levitating," Del, explained beside me. "Not flying. There's a difference. Also, since you're a Tweaker, you can levitate like this. Okay?"

I pushed forward like I was swimming away from the pool wall and my plasma friend followed. The more I leaned forward, the more I went forward. It made sense. I looked down below me where the man walking his dog gawked at me, and flew off without a care. I wondered if that would forever scar him.

* * *

As I kept fly- er- levitating forward, the more the sun came up in the sky around me. Then it continued flying throughout the sky like it did before which signified I was going through a time change. I wondered if it was because the next morning was coming up and Start would be waiting for me.

There was a huge oak tree in the front of someone's house and I understood immediately that it was Stuart's house. "Del! There it is! How do I stop?"

"You can do it. Just think that you want to stop. A'ight?" I thought 'stop' over and over, and I suddenly started to descent and landed around the corner from Stuart's house. My hands became solid and the feeling went through my body, changing my clothes as it went. I was dressed in a nice striped shirt with a pair of torn-up jeans. My bangs were braided to the side of my forehead and I looked really sweet. I flashed a smile to Del and ran around the street to find Stuart.

I peeked around the fence and sure enough Stuart was sitting up against the tree and was watching down the street that I just came from. He looked anxious and well-groomed; like he was going to meet his grandmother for Easter brunch in a few seconds. Every once in a while he would glance down the street, but in the meantime he focused on a piece of paper in his lap and scribbled furiously. He crumpled up the paper and groaned in anger, then took out another piece and started to scribble again. There was a pile of paper balls beside him.

I almost walked onto his lawn to approach him, but a car pulled into the driveway and a tall man stepped out of it. His hair was also black and his eyes were heavy with work stress, but he smiled at the boy nonetheless. When he started towards Stu, he didn't look up. I scrambled back behind the fence.

"Hey son, Mr. Pot- I now discovered- greeted.

"Hi Dad."

"Whatcha doin' there? Drawing again?" Mr. Pot groaned when he bent over to get a paper ball and un-crumpled it to study the contents when he stood. "This is very good- you did this?"

"Dad!" Stu snatched the paper back and put it down so the drawing was face down. "Those are secret!"

He laughed and said, "Did you friend come over yet?"

"No..." Stu sighed. "Dad...do you think she's going to come at all?"

"Of course."

"But I wonder if I just imagined her," Stu touched his cheek before he went on. The cheek that I kissed. "I mean, I was pretty scared. And she was wonderful. I wonder if I just imagined her."

"Could be," Mr. Pot said, picking up the picture again. "Is that why you keep drawing her? Because you can't remember if she's real?"

"Dad!"

Mr. Pot smiled. "Maybe you should draw her eyes, son." He flipped the drawing around and sure enough it was a drawing of me. That is, a sad excuse of a drawing of me- given it was drawn by an 11-year-old boy- and there was a huge gray smudge where the eyes should be from the eraser bits; but for a child, it was very good. And it touched me. "Stuart, if you really believe that she exists, then you're doing the right thing; sometimes the only thing you can do is wait for them to just walk into your life again."

Stu ignored the latter comment his father made. "Well, I can't draw the eyes..." He frowned.

"Why not?"

"Cause they were...well, they are..." Stuart went on, but Mr. Pot was called inside by his wife and left him alone, saying he'll talk more about it later. "Beautiful," Stuart finished once he was alone. He looked down the street once more, sighed, and looked at his watch. It was sunset.

'Stuart has been waiting for me this whole time. And he drew me,' I thought, beginning to smile. 'Well, attempted to draw me, but all the same. He didn't forget about me.'

I started to step out to greet him, but froze when he climbed up the first branch of the oak. This was the day that Stuart's hair would turn azure and his migraines would start and his memory will turn to mush; The day he fell out of the tree.

I had to stop it. That must be the reason why I was here, right? It would save 2-D a world of trouble with pain meds and headaches and blue hair. And-who knows- maybe even bullying from Murdoc.

'So why am I wasting time thinking about it?' I wondered, realizing my friend was already halfway to the top. 'I've got to do this as best as I can without startling him suddenly.' So very slowly, I stepped onto his lawn and said, "Start?"

His head whipped around and his eyes met mine. I forgot Stu still had pupils so I was taken aback a bit. "Destiny!" Stuart said, almost screaming. "You're here!"

"Yes, I'm here," I said, slowly, almost cautiously. Like he was on the edge of a building, ready to jump. "Please, please come out of the tree, Stuart. Slowly, please. I don't want you to fall."

Stuart was too excited. He was beaming with happiness and didn't hear a word I said. "I thought you weren't gonna come! My dad will be so happy to meet you."

"Yeah, but Stu, listen to me. You're not listening," My hands were out in front of me now, coaxing him to be calm. "Slowly, come down from the tree. Okay? Slowly."

"Okay!" Stu reached his foot down, but it didn't catch the next branch and his weight became too much for the one he was on.

And it broke.

I ran to catch Stu, ready to stop him from hitting his head on the ground like he said he did in the kitchen, but he fell through me. I was a ghost now. There was nothing I could do to help him.

* * *

**Murdoc: I hate this chapter.**

**Me: No you don't.**

**Murdoc: Yeah, I do. You make me a fucking kid.**

**Russel: I wasn't even in this huh?**

**Me: NOPE :D Hate to end on a cliffhanger, but MWAHAHAHA I'M EVIL! As for Destiny, I feel like she's living in a little corner in the back of my mind, narrating the story and I write it down and very slowly she's engulfing my mind.**

**Destiny: You love it :3**

**Me: I hate it. O-O You hate me, too. Every time I draw you, you hate the outfits.**

**Destiny: That's cause I'd never wear those outfits D:**

**Me: Fine. Whatever. KEEP AN OUT FOR MY DEVIANTART ACCOUNT FOR PICS OF GORILLAZ AND GANG. As for anything else, facebook, messaging me, etc...well, you know where to find me. Adieu.**


	23. Demon Days II Chapter 23

**So! I have finished the second part of the Demon Days! Yay! I'm glad you all understand how I'm making this all. It's really fun to include Destiny in the past. Even more fun to draw. Well, enjoy!**

* * *

"No," I whispered aloud. Suddenly, the bright and happy cheerful world turned grim. The sun was almost gone and the green grass was now brown in color. The thriving oak tree became rotted and dead. The white, happy fence became crooked and the paint peeled. Everywhere I looked, the memory was becoming bad. And it was my fault.

My phantom body stumbled back, away from the boy who lay on the ground, cradling his head. "No, no, no. It wasn't supposed to happen like that! Del, I need to do this over! Please, Del! Del...?"

I expected him to show up out of nowhere a few seconds later, but he didn't. Stuart's dad did instead and rushed to his son's side. I couldn't stay to see his reaction. I didn't want him to see what I did to his son's life.

So I ran. Begging Del- wherever he was- to let me try again at preventing this from happening, possibly running through fences and people, too blinded with tears to see, notice, or care. My ghostly body defied me from saving my best friend. How was I going to live with that?

Eventually I ran out of energy and stopped. The sun was down, but the stars refused to come out. I was on a street like any other and there was a crooked, peeling fence running along the side of the lawn that hugged it. I felt just as bad as that fence. I leaned against it and broke down in quiet, un-audiable sobs.

Then I felt him by my side. "Why did you bring me here?" I asked.

Del looked at me expressionless. "It had to be done, Destiny. That's always how it will be."

"No it's not!" I yelled, rising to my feet and getting in Del's face. "I'm not even from this time! It was you who made me do it and brought me his pain! You took me back to this time to use me for horrible, evil intentions! Now his whole life is ruined because you made me do something that was easily avoidable!"

Del didn't budge. "It had to be done, Destiny. I'm sorry for tricking you like that, but the future wouldn't be what it is today if 2D hadn't-"

"But is it worth it?" I interrupted. "Is everything really going to fall out of kilter just because 2-D's happy? Is that really so bad that destiny forbids it to happen? How does that make sense? To sacrifice his life like that? Sweet Satan, I wish I could punch you, but I know it's not gonna hit you!"

"Destiny, you were cool with Derrick's death and it being the way it was. Why aren't you cool with this?"

"Because I could've been there for Stuart. I could've helped him; you could've helped me help him! People tore me away from Derrick; people I don't know or care about. But you're my friend. You're 2D's friend. You didn't let me catch him. Instead you made me a ghost. I could've helped him..." Suddenly all the anger just left my body. "I could still help him. Now. In this time. Right?"

"Why don't you go find out?" Del said. I blinked in confusion. It was daylight. Someone looked at me and asked if I was okay. My clothes was now a red and yellow sundress with flip-flops. My bangs were braided and pinned to the side. I glanced at Del, who was gone, and started off in the direction of Stuart's house. I had to stop and ask for directions twice before I found the oak tree in the yard again. It looked as it had after I left.

I ran right up to the door and knocked furiously. I stood back. 'This is the first time I'm going to meet Stu's parents.' A blush crept across my cheeks.

The woman who answered the door was the perfect definition of a sexy nurse; Tall, blonde curls, curvy, and dressed in a white medical uniform that was short on her long legs. Mrs. Pot looked startled and like she was just about to leave for work...or returned from it. I didn't know what time it was.

I was scared that she knew it was my fault for hurting Stu and the guilt was eating me alive in the short moments that she stared at me. "It's you...!"

"Excuse me?" I managed to ask before she pulled me into a hug and my face was squeezed between her two large breasts. I've never really been hugged by a woman before, so it was weird for me to have to turn my head to breathe for air before my lungs exploded. When she let go, I was red in the face. "Is- um...wow- hi," I stuttered as I tried to remember what my purpose of being here was.

"You're that girl!" She ran inside for a moment leaving me dumbly on the doorstep and when she ran back in her two-inch heels, she was holding one of Stu's drawings of me. The eyes were still a grey smudge. "You're the girl Stuart's been talking about!" She giggled. It was kind of an annoying sound. "Forgive me for getting excited, but Stu just doesn't stop talking about you!"

"Really?" I asked, speechless once more. "Well, is Stu home?"

"Oh, yes, of course! Destiny," She giggled again as if saying my name was a canny thing to do. "You know, I just can't believe you're here! Between you and me, I thought he was going crazy. Oh, but what mother am I to think that way. I'm Stu's mom, by the way, but you can call me Rachael, okay? Oh, but listen to me ramble! Please, come in!" She stepped aside and I entered.

"Um, thank you?" I stepped in and she closed the door. I took a glance around and I saw that Stu's home is very nice. You enter straight into the foyer where the stairs led to the second floor. To the right was the living room with a family photo of the Pots above the fireplace. To the left was the kitchen and on the refrigerator was one of the pictures of me that he drew, a huge smudge where the eyes would be as it was before. I blushed. Besides that, Stu grew up in an open, enriching, and close-knit home.

As I was observing, I failed to notice that Mrs. Pot brought in Mr. Pot. "David, this is Destiny. The nice girl that Stuart has been talking about," Rachael introduced, holding his arm. I swallowed a huge lump in my throat. David was the only one who was also present when Stu fell from the tree. If he remembered me from that moment, then I was going to be in big trouble.

"N-n-nice to meet you," I stuttered and shook his waiting hand.

"The pleasure is all mine, Destiny. Really," David said with the big, easy-going smile that he always carried. "I'm so happy to see you." I breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't carry the slightest twinge of a grudge. The watch on David's wrist beeped and he kissed his wife on the cheek. "Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I'm going to be late. It was lovely meeting you." And he left for work.

Mrs. Pot turned to me again, the smile never leaving her face. "You look lovely," she complimented. "I'm sure you're here to visit Stu? After the accident , we've gotten all kinds of visitors."

I glanced at her. "Accident?" I asked, but caught myself. "Oh! Yeah...is he okay?"

"Yes, he's fine now!" Mrs. Pot giggled again out of excitement and sighed. "Well, I suppose he is. He's having bad migraines and is bed-ridden. All he's been asking for is to see a girl named Destiny, you." She giggled again, then stopped. "You are Destiny...right?"

"Oh, yes! I am Destiny. Nice to meet you," I paused. "Can I see Stu now?"

"Oh yes, of course! And here I am rambling again." She laughed and started to guide me upstairs.

As we went, I thought of how fortunate I was that Stu's parents didn't hate me. Which also made me curious as to what they were thinking. "How did Stu get hurt?"

"Oh, he climbed the oak out front and fell. He says he thought he saw you-"

'So she does blame me for it!' I thought and my heart skipped a beat.

"-but Mr. Pot says you were never there. Poor boy..." I sighed again.

We reached the top of the stairs and the first door on the right, covered in The Human League posters, 'Do Not Enter' signs, and a moogue (sp) ad made me think it was a young 2D's room. And I was right when Mrs. Pot said, "Here's Stu's room. Please don't mind the mess; you know how boys are!" She giggled again. It was beginning to get annoying... "Please make yourself at home! I'll be at work if you need anything. Stu knows how to contact me if he needs to." And she left.

I waited by the door for a few more moments, waiting for Rachael to leave completely, until I heard her car leave the driveway. Then I knocked on the door and held my hands together by my heart. 'Pray for the best, embrace for the worst. Pray for the best, embrace for the worst,' I thought, expecting nothing.

"Who is it? What do you want?" His voice asked from the other side.

"Stu?" I choked out, relieved that he sounded like his old self. "It's Destiny...hi."

There was a familiar crash inside and then more familiar stumbling and finally the door opened. Stu looked completely okay except that his eyebrows were gone and he wore a baseball cap over his bald head. He straightened his back and smirked, "You look very beautiful today."

I flung myself at him and hugged his neck. At the same time, Stuart's arms went around my back and he held me tightly. I was happier than I ever was on the Demon Days.

* * *

For the next three weeks, I stayed in Stu's time and he recovered. I told the Pot family that I was living with my grandma down the street while my parents were touring America in a band; The same story I told Stu the night we met. They believed me, and I was allowed to stay for as long as I want each day, as my "grandmother worked".

So for three weeks straight, I hung out with Stu in his home. He stayed in bed most of the time and I listened to his music or played board games or watched movies. We would talk and laugh and I grew to really like Stu. One day, we went to his father's carnival and it was the first time I've ever been to one. I had so much fun with him and we got on everything for free. Other days we'd walk around his neighborhood or ride his bikes. Sometimes Stu would ask me where my grandmother lived and want me to show him. I panicked at first, but after walking around aimlessly and empty promises of "we're almost there", Stu would forget completely what we were doing. Soon I trusted Stu so much that I let him wear my hat.

Sometimes Del would come and take me away early too. So I told Stu goodbye, become a ghost, and disappear for a while. This was so I wouldn't interrupt any events that didn't need Tweaking. I told Stu that this was because my grandmother wanted me home for some reason. Then, I would chat with Del and we made up after the tree fight thing.

One day, I asked Del why I was in the time period still. He explained that these were hard times for 2D to grasp and he needed someone there to make it happier. I nodded

Some nights, Stu had the worst migraines. His mother supplied him with endless amounts of pills, sure, but they weren't enough to make the pain go away. Sometimes I'd walk into his room and he'd be curled up on his bed in pain. At these times, I'd slowly close the door, then the window curtains trying to make it as dark as possible in his room. Then I'd sit on his bed and lay Stu's head on my lap and rub his shoulder until he either fell asleep or felt better.

One day, I was with Del waiting for Stu to come back from a doctor's appointment. I was really excited because he was supposed to be all better and we were going to celebrate with a sleepover. Del wasn't as excited as me. I didn't notice, though.

"Hey, 'D..." he said, reaching out to me. Not that it mattered because we were both ghosts.

"Hey, Del!" I said, spinning around with a big smile. "Do you think you could give me a blue sleeping bag? Or my pjs with the pink buttons on the front?"

He sighed. "Destiny, you're not listening to me. We need to talk about something."

I blinked and smiled solemnly. Those words usually never held good news. "I'm sorry. I'll listen. What is it?" Del was about to speak, but I became solid again. My heart started doing back flips. Or was it my stomach? "Oh! Sorry, Del! We'll talk later okay? I've got plans to keep."

"But-"

"See ya!" I called over my shoulder and started running towards Stu's house. My clothes was the same yellow shirt and brown khaki shorts that I've been wearing, but I also had a sleeping bag and pillow under my arms. Both Rachael and David were in work and that was only because they knew I was coming over. Had I not, they would've taken the day off to take care of their only son. They're good parents like that. They left the door open for me, but I locked it when I got inside. When I was going to head upstairs, the phone rang in the kitchen. I hesitated for a second, but I ended up putting down my things and picking it up. "Hello, this is the Pot residence."

*Destiny,* the voice on the line said. *Say goodbye to your friend.*

I froze solid. "Excuse me?"

*It's me; Del.* I sighed. *Listen: Tonight is the last night you're here, girl. Stu's head is fine now...well, as fine as it's gonna get. He don' need you no mo'. When he wakes up tomorrow, we ain't gonna be here.*

At first, I was speechless, but I wanted to disagree, rebel, and refuse to leave. But then, I accepted the fact that I am just here temporarily. I knew that from the beginning. So I nodded and smiled and said, "Okay. Should I tell him?"

*Yeah, you can. Just not the truth, of course.*

"Of course," I agreed and looked at the fridge. I half-smiled at the picture of me and memorized the rest of my surroundings so I'll never forget this.

*I'm sorry.* Del said and it was silent for a while. *Will you- Are you okay?*

"Yeah, of course. I mean, I knew couldn't stay here forever. After all, it's been that way since the beginning. And I belong in Kong with 2D and Murdoc, Noodle and Russel, and Damon and Jamie. So, I'll tell Stuart. Then we can leave."

I felt somebody staring at me and I turned around. Stu was at the entryway, smiling at me. "I gotta go," I told Del and hung up the phone. Stu was still wearing the baseball cap and wore a red plaid shirt with black shorts. I stared at him with a sad look. How could I tell this innocent boy that I was never going to hang out with him again? Well, never like this again. As Destiny-from-down-the-street, not Destiny-from-the-Organ-Emporium.

He noticed my sad expression and asked, "Hey, are you okay?"

I shook my head. "No, nothings wrong." Yet. He nodded and took my hand, leading me upstairs with my stuff under his other arm. We sat across from each other on the bed as we have so many times before and he started to point things out to me in a comic book. I wasn't really paying attention. "How was your visit to the doctor's?" I asked finally.

Stu smiled widely and leaned in close. I leaned in too and he mumbled, "I want to show you something. But you can't tell my parents I'm showing you! Okay?"

"Okay."

"Pinkie swear?"

"Yes, Stu, I swear I won't tell your parents." And I linked my pinkie with his.

"Okay. Look at this!" Stu took off his baseball hat and revealed what was slowly becoming a full head of azure hair. I feigned surprised shock. I knew this was coming. "I know, right? Don't freak out, cause it doesn't hurt or anything. But I think it's cool and I really like it! Don't you think?"

"Yeah, Stu." I didn't sound enthusiastic. "I really like it too..."

His face fell when my excitement didn't reflect his. "You're acting weird...are you sure something's not bothering you?"

'Well,' I thought with a sigh. 'Now is a good time as any.' So I adjusted myself in front of him so my body language reflected his; Confident, bold, ready for anything.

"Stu, I'm mov-"

**GLOMP!** Stu's body tackled mine to the bed and he tickled my sides. I burst out in laughter and tried to push him off. "No- Stop! What're you-?"

"You weren't smiling, so I'm gonna make you smile!" Stuart said with a smirk.

"Okay! I'm smiling, I'm smiling!" I said between laughs and tried to swat him away. "Now get off me!"

"Quit smacking me then!" He stopped tickling me, but he pinned my wrists to the bed on either side of me. "I win!" He said, as though this was one of our wrestling matches. But this was different. The giggling stopped and our eyes widened and met. A blush crossed both our faces.

My heartbeat raced and I was still. I wanted him to get off, but stay there at the same time. His body weight was crushing me, but I didn't mind. I didn't know what to say; what to do. An eternity passed in seconds.

"Destiny..." Stu mumbled. He started to lower his head to mine. He was going for a kiss.

I held my breath. This was getting too intense. Stu and I were too young to have our first kiss...weren't we? I mean, it's what I've always wanted, and 2D had kissed my cheek before, but this was too weird. Ugh, 2-D. How will I look at him the same way? All I'll think about is that we kissed. I wonder if he'll remember this when we get older. What if he hates me? Will 2D realize how much I like him? What about the rest of the band? Will Russel disown me? Murdoc make fun of me? Obviously. Will Noodle hate me? I didn't want to find out. I wasn't comfortable with this. I knew,

**I can't kiss Stuart!**

"No," I said, turning my head. He instantly stopped. "Stu, I can't. I'm leaving. My parents are done with their tour. They're taking me home...I won't see you again for a long time."

Stuart was silent. He slid off of me and sat back on his bed. I didn't look at him, but I understood he was upset. Then he said, "I like you, Destiny. I mean, I _like_ _like_ you...do you...like like me too?"

I looked into his eyes. They were dark. Longing. Missing. I don't know what this would do to my crush on 2D or the future, but I couldn't just sit there. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "Of course I do, Stu...I do. I'm sorry I have to leave."

"It's okay..." Stu said and wrapped his arms around my back. His hair tickled my forehead.

I was quiet for a bit, but then I said, "Stu? Will you do me a favor?"

"Of course. What d'you need?"

"Will you...will you please stay safe? I know it sounds weird, but I hope you never have to change. I'll always like you, but just...try to be safe." It was a stupid request, for I knew the outcome that 2-D would face. But I couldn't help but try everything I could to protect Stu.

"Sure I will...Destiny? When are you leaving?"

"Tonight's my last night," I said, not really sure myself exactly when I'd be gone. I felt horrible. I was admitting my feelings and running.

"Then...can I just- sleep with you tonight? Please?" It wasn't right, but when I looked into Stu's eyes, I saw 2D. I saw every time I crawled into his bed and slept in his arms because I was scared of Kong or had a bad nightmare. He was always there for me. Tonight I had to be here for Stu. So I nodded.

The watch on my wrist read 9:18 PM. We crawled into his bed and Stu wrapped his every limb around mine. I hugged his neck and waited for Stu to fall asleep. He finally did around 11:49 PM. I looked up at him and- despite the darkness- saw his face perfectly. There wasn't a scar on it. Just peaceful dreams and innocent childhood. He didn't look like 2D at all. He wasn't as dark. He wasn't as scared.

I couldn't help myself- I leaned my head up and touched my lips to Stu's sleeping ones. It wasn't anything passionate like I had thought with my crush on 2D, but it satisfied me. From the smile across Stu's sleeping face, it satisfied him too.

At 11:50 PM, the room illuminated in a bright neon-blue glow.

The next morning, Stu woke up alone in bed. His eyes blinked and he scratched his head. The pillow and sleeping bag were gone. The hat the girl he like-liked on the nightstand was gone. When he ran downstairs and looked at the fridge, there was the picture of the girl he like-liked.

Who was also gone. And he would meet again when he's nineteen and she's seven at the Organ Emporium.

* * *

The white light dimmed and I was in another time period. Levitating, I was looking down at clouds. My ears popped from the height. My clothes were back to normal; a purple hoodie, jeans, and my hat.

Del floated beside me. "Are you-"

"I'm fine. I didn't belong with him. We're just from two different worlds," I said, dismissing it for-what I hoped was- forever. "Will he remember? 2-D, I mean."

"No."

"How many more trials? In the Demon Days?" I asked, exhausted. There was no response. When I looked up, Del was gone. "Great." I floated through the last of the clouds and landed. I landed in a cemetery.

And a garbage dump was right beside it. I was home at Kong Studios.

'Could they really be over...!' I thought and sped off to the mountain. I climbed up it's windy hill and when I saw the two front doors, I ran forward screaming, "Guys! Guys! I'm back, guys! I'm home! I-"

I reached out to the door's handle, but fell through it completely. Inside, I saw the jukebox wasn't there, the lobby was completely trashed and the television only played cartoons, not LIVE Gorillaz feed.

I was still a phantom of the Demon Days.

"Aw, man!" I screamed into nothing. "Tricking me now, Del? What's up with that?" Then I levitated up to the ceiling so my back was pressed up against it. "No, down! Put me down! I didn't mean to levitate up!" No matter how much I resisted, I was solid and stuck to the ceiling.

"Oi, Russel!" Murdoc's adult voice called into the lobby. The doorbell rang and rang and nobody was getting it. "Are you gonna answer the bloody door?"

"No, Murdoc." Russel yelled back, short-tempered. "I'm busy."

"Ugh. Fine." Then he mumbled something unintelligible. "Oi, Faceache! Aren't you gonna answer the bloody door?"

"Coming!"

"There, that's more like it." Typical Murdoc.

My tall, blue-haired, black-eyed, missing front teeth childhood lover walked in then and my face turned bright red. But what happened in the past is the past. And I didn't think any further of it. He walked up to the door and called back to Murdoc, "Did you order sumfink?"

"For Christ's sake! What do you mean?"

"There's a big box."

"Box?" Murdoc's stomping could be heard all over Kong and he and Russel entered the lobby. Murdoc stepped around 2D and- as he did- smacked his face. I frowned. "What is this...thing?" Murdoc wondered and tried to push it inside. But he's weak and failed.

Russel easily pulled in the 10-foot-high crate. "Did anyone of y'all order something through FedEx?" The two men shook their heads, unknowingly. But I knew. "Well, there isn't an address; maybe it's delivered to the wrong-"

Then the top popped off and landed randomly in the hall. We all jumped. Tiny three foot two Noodle jumped out and held a cherry red Les Paul. She yelled something in Japanese, but the boys were dumbfounded. I silently egged her on to play, stuck to the ceiling as though it were tiled with fly paper.

Finally, she let loose on the guitar. It was powerful, loud, and wild. Murdoc's and Russel's jaws were to the floor. 2D snapped along to the different rhythm that played in his head. I got lost and threw up my arm sreaming, "Yeah! Go Noodle!" Then I stopped. 'Wait...I don't echoic like a ghost...I must be solid again!' But I realized this too late.

Only Noodle spotted me, pointed and said "burglar!" in Japanese.

"No, no, no!" But Noodle kicked me in the jaw and I flew back, suddenly a ghost again. I could see that I flew through concrete, drywall, insulation, and other building materials as a whistle raised in pitch like it does for most cartoons when they're flying through the air. My body flew stories above the ground outside until the white light engulfed me; speeding through time and space.

* * *

I was spat out of the white tunnel into a city- actually the parking lot of a gas station in a city. It was night and raining really hard. I landed with a crash, but was completely unharmed. Quickly, I dashed in an alleyway behind the grocery store-like mart and waited to change back to a solid human. My clothes changed- as they usually do to fit the time period- to be pretty normal. And by normal, I mean my time period normal. I wore long jeans, a baseball hat, and what looked like a salvation army jacket over a white crew shirt. Despite my clothes changing, I could still see through my hands and stick them through my body.

'Well, if that's how it's gonna be,' I thought and bravely walked out into the station again. Through the window I could see that the mart had shelves decorated with foods and everything was colored green, orange, and white. Lines of cars were waiting to re-fuel and I looked up at the brightly-lit sign. It read 7-Eleven. The date going across the LED sign read July 15th, 1993 8:45 PM.

'Why do I know this name?' I wondered and paced in a circle, trying to find my purpose of being here. 'In the kitchen, Murdoc told about his past, then 2-D, then Noodle...so this is Russel's story...about-'

My question was answered in the form of a yellow car pulling into the 7-Eleven with rowdy teens inside. Driving them was a skinny black man with a baseball hat that matched the color of the car dressed in a white t-shirt with blue sleeves. The one behind him was a young Russel- eighteen to be exact- and his eyes were pupil- and iris-filled like Stuart's was. His eyes are brown with yellow specks.

I almost smiled, but I froze. Russel was a victim in 1993. His friends were gunned down and Del was killed and invaded his head. The driver must be Del.

The world moved in slow-motion as a black Humvee pulled into the space next to the yellow car. The teens didn't even notice. they were unaware that the car beside them was filled with men dressed in red hoods and one with a black one. They were unaware that the men were pointing Uzis at them.

"Russel!" I screamed, but I was a ghost. What could I do? He couldn't hear me. But surely, there was something I was supposed to do; that's the reason why I was here, right? 'There's no way I can become solid and warn them in time,' I thought, but kept yelling at Russel anyway. I ran forward and did the only thing I could think of. In my time, Russel had said that the driver of the Humvee almost reminded him of Satan. So, if that was true, then maybe supernatural could cancel out supernatural, right? So, I slipped into the car like I had through the Kong door and shielded Russel's body with mine.

"Hey, dawg," Russel said, poking at Del's shoulder. Del was sipping from an ICEE drink. "Do you feel a chill runnin' through? It's ice cold." Del shrugged. I was confused too, but I understood pretty quickly.

Russel could feel me standing there.

The bullets went flying. Russel ducked his head before any could hit him, but they went straight through Del and his friends. Blood and glass flew around. As history said, Russel survived and wasn't hit once. The Humvee drove off and dead bodies laid strewn in the car. People at 7-Eleven were screaming, calling for help, etc.

I thought that as a phantom, I wouldn't have been scathed by the battle. Right?

Wrong.

Flying glass tore up my clothes and face. Although I wasn't hit by all the bullets, I had multiple wounds in my arms, chest, shoulder and upper legs. One even scraped my cheek and blood was pouring down. They hurt more than I can describe. Blood splattered on my face and it wasn't my own. My heart beat furiously in my chest, pumping blood to some places where it just fell out again.

I was hurt all over. A human again. Del changed me back too late and too fast. Russel didn't see me though and I didn't care. I had protected Russel from the Devil and that's what mattered. The determined look stayed on my face and I hadn't faltered when it was over. Only my rigid breathing showed I was hurt.

I was really proud of myself.

Right as I collapsed, Russel's head emitted a beam of red and white light. All the souls of the dead friends started to get sucked in. I was getting pulled in too. 'What? But I'm not a ghost!' But I kept getting sucked in like a vacuum was pulling me. I reached out to grab something, but my hands were transparent. 'Oh man! I am a ghost!'

I didn't want to be stuck inside Russel's head forever! I wouldn't know how to get out! I tried to resist, but I was weak from all the recent injuries. White ghostly faces with long, wispy tails all started to call out to me. But I resisted still.

It wasn't until I saw Del's blue face with white eyes and red lips come out of the body in front did I gasp and my resistance faltered. It was all it took for me to tumble back into Russel's head like I was swirling down a drain,

Trapped forever.

* * *

Next, I was floating in black. Just laying on nothing, yet I felt completely at ease. Completely comfortable. Like if I laid there for the rest of my life, nothing would be wrong with it. There was no sound. I could only see my body. Not that I wanted to move my head. All I did was stare ahead with half-lit eyes. _(Picture Kingdom Hearts, in the beginning of the game. It's kinda like that...heh heh) _Nothing mattered. Not what happened with Stu, Kid Murdoc, or Russel or Noodle. All I cared about was the comfortable suspension I was in.

_"Destiny,"_ a voice echoed. _"You need to get up. It's not over for you."_

My brow furrowed. "Go away, Del." Despite the voice sounding nothing like Del, I knew it was him. "I'm done playing your games."

The voice actually wasn't a voice at all. It was a message. I didn't hear anything, yet I knew that someone was talking to me. They weren't in my thoughts either. It was just a mute voice.

It went on, _"You can't give up hope. You need to continue your Demon Days."_

"What's the point?" I asked, turning to my side. It was like laying in the softest bed in the world. "I'm trapped here. I can't get out even if I wanted to. I tried to help my friends and I failed everytime. I don't deserve to be with them..."

_"Destiny_," the voice called, but I ignored it. _"Destiny...Destiny."_

"Deaftiny?" This wasn't a mute voice this time. This was a real voice. One that I recognized perfectly. 2-D. With his two front teeth missing and black eyes.

He whispered in my ear and I felt his lips brush me as he cooed, "Please wake up. Come back to us, Deaftiny."

But I was stubborn. "No, 2D. I've failed you. I failed everyone. I couldn't help you when you fell from the tree and it's all my fault. I'm a horrible friend. I don't deserve you," I said sadly.

"Don' deserve me?" He asked like the happy-go-lucky 2D I know. "Wot're you talkin' about? You belong wif us! We need you, Deaftiny."

"You...you need me?"

"He's right, child." Russel was at my other ear. His voice was warm like melting caramel. "We need you. And we love you. Don't blame yourself for our stories. We just want you back."

"Yeah," 2-D said dumbly. "Wot he said."

"Destinee!" Noodle yelled, off in the distance. She spoke Japanese, but I could roughly translate the screaming. "Stop being dead and et up! You can't stay there forever! I miss you!"

"Oh, for Christ's sake!" Murdoc's voice yelled and was in front of me. I opened my eyes wide- expecting to see him- but instead I saw a bright white light grow far off in the darkness. "No one understands wot you're screaming about, Noodle! And you! Half-pint! Get the 'ell up before I **make** you! We need you **now**!"

"Deaftiny..."

The light grew brighter.

"Destiny."

And brighter.

"Destineeeee!"

Brighter...

"**HALF-PINT!**" Until I was completely engulfed and breached the surface of my dark sea.

I woke up.

* * *

My whole body jolted forward and I collided my forehead against Murdoc's. He'd apparently been shaking my body.

"Ow!" Murdoc cried and fell back off my bed, though I felt no pain.

I was in my room. My own bed. Surrounded by the four people I knew and loved. They were looking at me like I was a zombie, but I didn't care. I was just happy to see them at the appropriate age. They were silent; holding their breath, no doubt.

"No way...!" I whispered and jumped out of bed. I ignored the stiffness in my body and the pleas of my friends and ran to the calender that hung over my desk. It read March 24th, 2001. I didn't care about what day it was, but I was happy with the month and year.

Next, I ran into the bathroom and stopped in front of the mirror. I could see myself. My hair was long- like down to my shoulder-blades long- and my bangs were too long to cover my forehead. I had to push them to the side. But my hands weren't see-through and my clothes were familiar pajamas that I wore to bed when Del got me. "Yes! I'm back!" I cried and started to laugh and jump for joy back into the room. "I'm back! I'm back! I'm baaaaack! This is the best day of my life! I missed you guys so much!" But they looked at me like I was a zombie still. "What're you looking at? It's like I rose from the dead or something."

"Well, you kind of did..." Russel said like he didn't have a grip on reality. He stepped up to me, taking my shoulders in his big hands, and asked, "Destiny, what happened? You were out cold fo-"

"How long?" I asked.

Russel missed a beat. "For _five days_."

"Only five..." I marveled, my eyes searching the floor as I recalled all the events that happened. I was gone for what should've been a month. I smiled.

"Only?" Russel asked, mad now. More than mad. He was furious...uh oh. "Do you realize you were _out cold_? Do you have _any_ _idea_ how _upset_ we were? How _worried_ and _scared_? We were...I was..." Suddenly tears sprang to his eyes and he collapsed around me. "I thought I lost you."

I patted his back and looked to the other three uneasily. "Um...what'd I miss?"

2-D, who was slowly getting color back to his face, must have been pale for days. His eyes were ringed with a mix of long term- almost permanent- worry and new relief. There was also a look I couldn't quite put my finger on. Was it familiarity? Did he recognize me as his childhood playmate now? "We came up to your room after teh fing in the kitchen to apologize, but you wos asleep. So we all came teh next mornin' instead.

"But you wosn't asleep. You were...well, you weren't breathin'. It wos like you wos Sleeping Beauty." 2-D gave a small, weak snicker to his metaphor, but it soon faded. He was probably by the side of my bed the most; Never leaving it like he did when I was in the hospital the first time we met. "If it wosn't for Noodle who noticed you still 'ad a 'eartbeat...well...we would've fought you were..." He turned away for a long time then back again. Tears came out of the black holes like it was a cave of water in his head and he crossed the room in two long, quick strides. His arms enveloped me and he broke down crying. His shoulders rose and crumbled with each cry and his face buried itself in my hair. Tears trickled down the now long tips.

Soon I hugged back, more in shock than anything, and I breathed out heavily. Russel joined the two of us quickly; terrified from the thought of losing his daughter. Only Murdoc didn't cry and Noodle, although she didn't hug the three of us, was huddled together and shook.

"Alrigh', quit the touchy-feel waterworks!" Murdoc shouted. It made me jump and I looked at him. He was still rubbing his forehead. "Wot the 'ell happened? I know you know and I wanna know now!"

Suddenly I was excited again. Everyone broke off so that I could tell my tale. I was more than willing to let them in on my adventures, knowing that I could since Del said I was able after I was back in my own period. That is, if they didn't already know.

"You already know!" I said, smiling.

"No, I don't know- **DON'T LIE TO ME!**"

"But you _do_ know, Murdoc! I was there! Don't you all remember me?" I asked, meeting each of their eyes. They still stared at me like I was crazy. "Look, I wasn't hurt and passed out or anything, so you can stop giving me those looks. Del took me on a Demon Days! You probably don't know what that is, but I was there! When you guys told me those stories about you in the kitchen? I was _there_ when Murdoc got beat up at the playground, I was _there_ when 2-D fell from the tree, I was _there_ when Noodle joined the band!" I looked to Russel. "And I saved your life! In the car at the 7-Eleven! Don't you believe me? I took all the bullets, remember?" My eyes were knowing,

But he looked back terrified. "Sweetie, are you sure you're okay?" He put his hand to my forehead. "Are you sure you didn't get up too fast?"

"No!" I shoved his hand off and paced towards Noodle. "Noodle! You remember seeing me, right? I was on the ceiling when you played the guitar! I know it sounds weird, but you saw me and kicked my jaw remember? Burglar!" I smiled and scoffed at the word. She just looked at me like I was an asylum patient. "Never mind, I mean- 2-D!" I turned to him and walked right up to him like I had before. "You remember! We had spent three weeks together at your house in Crawley. We went to the carnival, and had sleepovers, and you were eleven and...and..." I looked at him with desperation more than knowledge this time. The adrenaline was beginning to turn to disappointment. "You gotta believe me. It's true. You gotta remember that, right? That summer was special..."

2-D looked down at me and got on one knee so that he had a better time of looking in my eyes. Then he put a hand on my shoulder and said, "Love, tat summer was a horrible time for me. I wos experiencin' teh worst of teh 'eadaches I get nowadays. I don' really rememba too much from ten...but I don' fink you coulda been tere. I wos eleven...you wosn't born yet...d'ya understand?"

"Destiny, maybe it was a dream ya had," Russel said, stepping up behind 2D. "I mean, it all just sounds too surreal. Del doesn't do that, y'know? It's not real. It's too superstitious." He took a deep breath to gather his thoughts. "Look, maybe it's because you haven't eaten anything for a while and you're beginning to hallucinate. Or maybe you had a night terror again. Or it's your over-active child imagination. Okay? But it didn't happen."

I shook my head and pushed 2D's hand off my shoulder, backing away. "No it's not, Russel. I know what I saw. This isn't some kid's dream. This was _real_! Del said you wouldn't remember me and it was my fault for thinking that you would, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen! It was real whether you believe me or not, but I'm not crazy! I didn't make this up!"

"Destiny, things like that aren't normal." Russel said, being sympathetic to me again.

"In case you haven't noticed, a lot of things that happen to us aren't normal!" I said, storming off to roam the halls of Kong as I usually do when I need to cool off. "I'm not crazy!" I called over my shoulder again before disappearing out of the porthole.

Murdoc looked to Russel and 2D and put his finger to his head, spinning it. "Coo-coo! Coo-coo! Coo-coo!" He whistled.

* * *

**Finally done. Hope y'all like it. And keep sending me messages and check out deviantart again!**


	24. Chapter 24

**It has been so long since I updated. I'm so sorry. I'm not even gonna write down excuses. Enjoy!**

* * *

I didn't see anyone again until dinner the same day. It was really awkward again because nobody wanted to speak to me. It was like coming home after the doctor's all over again after being diagnosed with bipolarity- everyone spoke to me as though it was going to trigger some kind of major depression, when really I was still the same girl.

Around the table, I just couldn't take it anymore. "Alright, stop it!" I almost yelled, slamming down my knife and fork. "Just stop it, okay? I'm not crazy! And I'm not lying! I swear I was there!"

They all still looked at me like I was speaking German: clueless. "Destiny," Russel said, cautiously as always. "We want to believe you. We really do…but I don't see how-"

"I told you how! Del took me on something called Demon Days! When I needed to fix something in the past, I stopped being in my phantom state and fixed it! I was a Tweaker, I swear!" I lifted up one of my hands and put the other on my chest. "Scout's honor!"

"Destiny, you're not a girl scout," Russel said.

"But you get what I mean."

"Actually you lost me at 'I'm not crazy,'" 2D said, confused.

"Ugh! Never mind!" I pulled myself up from the dinner table, leaving behind my barely touched waffles, and stormed out with balled fists at my side. I grumbled, "If you guys won't believe me, I'll make you believe me with the only way I know how."

Russel called after me, but I didn't hear him. I took the lift to the floor below me and crossed my arms. The booth seemed like it was slower than ever and I tapped my foot impatiently. When the doors did open, I walked out faster than I normally do and found myself seeing red; Another cartoon characteristic, no doubt. I ignored this when I reached my destination and pounded my fist on the door. "Murdoc! **Get out here!**" I demanded.

For a short while, I just stood there impatiently and pushed the bangs out of my face a few times. I decided not to cut my hair quite yet, and was even surprised that it had grown so long in just a short five days. Based on the reflection of a window that I passed when wandering around Kong angrily, I got a better look at myself than from the quick glance in my bathroom and realized that I was smoking hot with long hair. And I could do a lot more with it than keep it hanging around my face or tucked under my hat. The only real problem I had were with my side bangs which I eventually gave up on and pinned with barrettes to the side of my forehead. They still didn't exactly stay still.

Whenever I do find myself wanting to be around Murdoc in his Winnebago, I always knock and request entry, but never to any advance. Even though Murdoc and I both know that he's home and not doing anything important, he always finds endless amounts of patience for me to leave by ignoring my presence at the door.

However today, I was completely impatiently and banged more frequently than usual, forcing him to come out of his hole. After sheer seconds of the fury-induced, mindless rapping, Murdoc moved between the door and me. "WHAAAAAT?" He screamed, but I ducked under his arm muttering to him to put on a shirt. As I moved throughout the Winnebago, he started putting on his gray sweater and kept going, "Oh, well if you're just going to _barge_ in here then it must be important. I mean, usually you knock, I ignore you, and you leave. But, THAT GIVES YOU NO RIGHT TO JUST WALK IN! YOU'RE ONLY ALLOWED TO DO THAT IN CASE OF EMERGENCIES! WE HAVE A CONTRACT, REMEMBER? Hey! **WHAT'RE YOU DOING WITH ALL MY GIRLS!**"

Undoubtedly, Murdoc had over seven girls for the night and they were all getting drunk and undressed in Murdoc's bedroom. I herded them together, barked orders for them to get dressed again, and they all walked past Murdoc, out of the garage park. Murdoc turned to each of them as they left pleading,\

"No! Wait! Come back! Get back in bed! Please! She's just a runt; she doesn't know any better!" But it was too late. He pivoted on his heel and turned back to me. The look in his eye would have scared me if I hadn't been so mad already. "**DESTINY!**" He growled between his grinding teeth. "THE CARPARK HAD BETTER BE ON **FIRE** TO MAKE UP FO-"

"1976. Tony Chopper- a red-headed, thick-skulled, gorilla of a boy- challenges _you_- scrawny, afro-haired, middle-schooler Murdoc- to a fight at the flagpole. When you get there, a girl pulls you aside and pleads with you to see the reason in non-violence, but you wouldn't have it. You get punched, and kicked, and tossed around like a nerd in a mosh pit. Then you stand up and deliver a speech so horribly vile, that Tony lashed out at you and broke your nose. When you went home that day, blood was dripping out of your face."

Murdoc stood speechless with his brow furrowed and jaw slack. His eyes were knowing, but still studious. "How do you-"

"I was there, Murdoc. I _know _all about that day. Your home life, your classmates, all the abuse you took as a kid. You spilt it out as a kid to that girl. I know this because _I _was that girl! It was the first place I went in the Demon Days. _I'm_ _not lying_, Murdoc. You _have _to believe me. I was there on the day you stood up to Tony Chopper, and I was there when your mom dropped you off on your dad's doorstep. I saw her do it. You came in a carriage and everything. So stop calling me a liar. Stop saying that it's my childish imagination and treat me like an adult. And _believe me for _**once**!" I almost yelled and stared in his eyes with no fear at all. I had let out all the pent-up feelings I had and all I had to do now was wait for Murdoc's reaction and argue some more.

But Murdoc didn't react with anger. His reaction was something entirely new to me. The look in his eye was pure, raw, loneliness. Abandonment. I didn't know what could've triggered this feeling in him until after I thought about it. "Oh…" I almost breathed out.

Murdoc walked from the doorway to the driver's seat and collapsed in it, the look of shock never leaving his eye. I walked over to him and sat in the passenger's side. I tried to apologize, but Murdoc said, "No, no. No need to do that…I…just…" He trailed, but didn't finish. I'm sure he didn't know how to. It was quiet for a while.

"Murdoc…your mom…" I took a deep breath before continuing. Murdoc looked at me expectantly; soaking up every bit of information about her that he could. "Your mom loved you…so much…I could tell that she didn't want to give you up. You were a fully grown child with a full head of hair, she must've at least _tried _to take care of you before ultimately doing what she did…I'm sorry."

Murdoc nodded and said, "Did you…_talk _to her?"

"No. She ran off before I had the chance." I looked Murdoc over once more and took his shoulder in my hand, giving it a confident squeeze. He searched my eyes like I did his. "Your mom was _beautiful_, Murdoc. Her hair was dark like your's. I didn't see her face, but she was tall and graceful. It was raining…she was covered up in a cloak…Murdoc, she took the time to tuck you into your bed before she went away. She leaned over you and…well, she didn't want to let you go."

Murdoc nodded a solemn nod again. It was the only information I could provide him with and the only information he would ever get. I gave him a few minutes to soak it all in before I took his head into my chest and stroked his arm like a mother to their child. "Oh, Murdoc. She loved you so much-" "I'm fine, kid! Geez, relax! Easy on the touchy-feely!" Murdoc said, but he didn't move his head. Instead, he pulled me into his lap and kept his head there as I played with his hair and he talked to me (And thank goodness, his hair was clean and not greasy. Must've been from the preparation for his night.), "Nobody else knows that about me, so you must be telling the truth about the…what do you call it?"

"Demon Days," I said, relieved I finally convinced him.

"Okay, whatever. Now, tell me _exactly_ what happened when you were knocked out cold." A smile spread across my face as I recounted, day for day, exactly what happened to me over that month. And Murdoc listened to my every word.

* * *

After I confided in Murdoc about the Ghost story, we went to Russel and Noodle and I retold my biography. It was the same story said the same way, but since Murdoc was on my side, that must mean it's true. The two had no choice but to believe me. Russel wanted to invest in some paranormal expert to dig up answers about Del, but Murdoc didn't see the need. Instead, Russel settled on a doctor's appointment to check on the gun wound I received from protecting him in his time (even though there was no evidence of the wound anymore).

Noodle really hadn't forgotten our previous encounter. Instead the memory was put on the backburner for all the weirdness of Kong. She thought that I was some kind of burglar or ninja and that she saw my face from Prodigy posters later and had always wanted to apologize.

It wasn't until after everyone calmed down did I have the chance to ask, "So, um…is 2D in his room?" because I had wanted to explain to him the Demon Days and get gauge his reaction on our time spent together.

"Not at the moment," Russel said from his spot on the couch. "He's on a date."

I blinked. "2D's on a date? Is he with Destiny?" Surprisingly, I was very accepting as the words came out.

"No, not anymore. In the midst of you being in a coma, they broke up."

"They did?"

"They did?" Murdoc followed. Then an evil look passed his face followed by his famous tongue sweeping over his lips. "Rebound time," He said and chuckled the un-mockable laugh. It was familiar and nice to hear. I subconsciously smiled and sighed. "What's your problem?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing! I just missed you, ya big disgusting lug."

Murdoc looked me up and down and his eyes slighted. "Riiiight….well, go to 2-D's room and me Destiny's number! That's an order!"

"Got it, boss!" I saluted and turned on my heel.

* * *

The carpark was quiet as I moved through it and as I neared 2D's room, I started to wonder how I was going to tell 2D about how I hung out with him as a kid. He didn't even remember that I was there when he fell on his head as a kid, let alone the summer that followed. I was curious if he was going to accept or deny the experience.

'I guess it's a bridge I'll cross when I get there,' I thought. As I closed in on 2D's room, a base grew from his speakers. 'What? Is 2D home after all?' I sped down the stairs. I didn't even bother with the second set and slid down the railway so that I could open the door quickly. Telling 2D of my worries not moments ago had already left my mind.

The room was lit up and 2D was hunched over, shirtless, picking up his room's mess. He looked up when I opened the door.

"2-D! You're home…!" I said with my hand still on the knob. "And you're cleaning!"

"Yeah." It was more a question than a statement. "It's pre'ty messy. And I wos lookin' for somefink."

"But you're supposed to be on a date, aren't you?" I asked, closing the door and following him as he put a huge load of clothes in the hamper. "I mean, that's what Russel said at least. Is she not here yet?"

"No, I told her not to come at all. I cancelled."

"You did? Why?"

"Cos I wan'ed to," 2-D said as casually as he would if he were ordering a sandwich. He finished his room and it was sparkling now. Literally. Little twinkles appeared on various odds and ends of furniture with little 'dings.' It was more spacey, too, and I could see his pink rug where I've many nights sleeping. 2D picked up the last item- a purple shirt with a large blue stripe across the chest- and threw it over his head. "Deaftiny…can we talk? Just for a few minutes, not too long."

A pink shade crossed my cheeks and I blinked. "Er, yeah…sure. Of course. What do you want to talk about?"

2-D pushed me to his bed and carried over his yellow chair. We sat across from one another; both on edge. "Do you not like me datin'? I mean- does my going on dates botha you?"

"No!" I said immediately. Which shocked me; not a week ago if 2-D had asked me this, I would have screamed 'a thousand times yes!', but now I didn't even mind. I didn't scream out in protest (or want to), let alone feel the heart-squeezing emotion I usually felt when it came to 2-D's love life. I guess I was over my celebrity crush on 2D.

'Just like I knew I would,' I thought with a smile. "No, 2D, I swear. You can date anyone you want- Destiny or otherwise."

"Really?" He asked me with a very sincere look. "Cos I wos kinda beginning to fink you didn't like me being away from home. I mean, when you were knocked out like tat, I couldn' fink of being anyw'ere but by your side. After somefing like tat, if you want me to be around more to play wif you I'll stay home and play wif you and Noodle more. I know I'm not _really_ your guard'an…and dating isn't really impor'ant to me, so…"

"What? 2D, I can't even believe my ears!" I almost laughed. "You don't have to stay cooped up in Kong all the time! We barely get out as it is!" A big smile crossed my lips and I cupped 2D's shoulder with my hand. "Listen: If you want to date girls, don't feel obligated to ask me or Noodle or anyone else."

"Even Murdoc?" I giggled, "Yes, not even Murdoc. When you like someone, it shouldn't matter if anyone else does. If you're happy with this girl, then she's very lucky and we're all supportive of your happiness. 2-D, why are you crying? Don't cry!"

As soon as the tears sprang up, I embraced 2D around his shoulders. His arms rested around my shoulder blades. "It's just, I'm glad you care so much. You're my best friend, Deaftiny. And I care about you too. I dunno wot I'd do wifout you. I wos so close…to losing you…"

"Oh yeah," I was so caught up in the conversation that I forgot about the one I wanted to have. "I wanted to talk to you about that; are you okay? You're not too shaken up by it, right, big guy?"

"HALF PINT!" Murdoc's booming voice suddenly rang from the door to the garage. "Where's that numba I wanted?"

I rolled over the bed so that I could stand around 2-D and opened the door to the stairwell. "Here, Murdoc!" I threw up my huge key ring. Murdoc leaned over the railing to catch them; barely doing so before they slipped out of his hands. "Take the number from my little black book. It's on my desk in my room."

"You have a little black book?" Murdoc asked with a slimy smile. "Delicious….HEY!" He said, looking over the keys to Kong and came across the spare I had to his Winnebago. He frowned, "These are to my fucking Winnebago! What the bloody hell do you have this for?"

"In case something happens to you. I would want to get to it quick instead of busting down the door. Trust me, it's just pre-cautionary." I waved him off and turned back in the room. 2-D was wiping his face. "I'm sorry. I guess that's my cue to start wrapping things up."

"Yeah. I guess." 2D paused. Then, "Lis'en, I'm glad you're okay. It shook me up a bit- wot 'appened when you were…out- but I'm fine now. Just…the risk itself-"

"Yes, well, never a dull day in Kong, I suppose." I tried to brush off, but 2D wasn't laughing. "But, seriously, I'm okay. Don't worry about what happened in the past." I smiled, and soon, he smiled back. It was the kind of smile I melt for, but I didn't. I could get used to being over 2D. "By the way, what were you looking for? Did you find it?"

"Oh yeah! I put it- um…hold on. I'll show you in a sec," 2D said and dug in the corner of his room. "You talkin' about goin' into our childhoods like tat got me finking about my childhood. And my best friend growing up." 2-D went into his side table and dug through drawers then ducked under his bed while he talked.

"Your best friend? Really?" I asked while sitting in bed and hugging his pillow. "What was his name?"

"'_Her'_, actually," 2D corrected while he searched. "I don' really rememba now…actually, now tat I fink about it, I kinda had a crush on her. She wos really nice, but she moved away after a while. I still kept somefing though. Ah! Here it is."

I already knew who it was that he was talking about, but I still smiled in surprise when he brought out the picture of me that once hung on his refrigerator long ago. It was worn a little from the years of storage, but the lines still perfectly matched my eyeball-less face.

"Wow," I said with the same smile as he showed me the picture. "She sounds like a great friend."

"Yeah," 2D murmured with a reminiscent grin as he examined the picture himself. "She wos like you; had really pre'ty eyes too. But every time I tried to contact her, nobody knows who she is. Or her parents. But I know she's out tere. I just need to rememba her name…"

"Don't worry, 2-D. I bet she's looking for you to-"

Suddenly I stopped. When I looked up to 2-D's face, I saw Stuart's. Not the blue-haired man who stood before me then, but the young, ambitious boy who shared the feelings I had with him.

The feelings that rekindled right before me.

I blinked thousands of times to make the image of Stuart go away. Finally it did- replaced again by my tall best friend who no longer captivated my heart- but the burning passion still lingered in my chest. Stuart, the boy who I had thought had his life stolen away by my misfortunate friend, still lingered inside my giant band mate.

And I still feel for the boy. I left Stuart's time still liking what little moments I had with him (romantically, anyway) and the emotion was very much prominent as I saw remnants of his face.

To sum it up, my crush on this being was very much still alive.

"I-uh…" I stuttered, backing towards the door to the room and avoiding 2D's stares. Luckily there wasn't anything to trip me. "I'm gonna go now. Glad you're okay."

"Deaftiny, are you okay?" 2D asked, but Stuart's repeated the words in my head. It was really weird. What could I tell 2D? 'Sorry, no, because I have a crush on you as a kid'? Yeah, that didn't sound totally insane at all.

"Er, no, 2-D. I'm fine really. Don't worry about it," I spoke with some hesitance in my voice and finally tripped on the first step. "I'll talk to you tomorrow! Night!" And I ran up the stairs.

* * *

For a good amount of the night, I stayed up chatting with Gorillaz fans on the message board until I passed out on my bean bag chair in the early morning. I woke up to a bucket of cold water dumped on my face.

"GAH!" I jumped and coughed up water.

"Muds, the chair's gonna grow mold now. You gotta throw it out." Russel's voice said somewhere in the room. I looked around and saw Murdoc held my gaze for a moment longer before tossing the empty bucket across the room. The rest of the band stood behind him. Murdoc's stare never stopped boring into me.

"What the crap, Murdoc?"

"The album was released today," he mused in a flat, even tone.

"Oh yeah?" I checked my watch to confirm this. It was indeed March 26th, 2001. I had slept until the afternoon. "How's it doing?"

Murdoc grabbed my collar and pulled my face close to his so that my tiny nose was squished up against his wonky one. "There were a set of keys in each of those CDs. Those keys could get in and out of my Winnebago." Slowly, the sanity in his voice began to slip.

"What do you mean there were keys in the CDs?" I asked.

"I dunno, squirt." Murdoc removed a hand from my pajamas to take out my key ring that I lent to him. "**You tell ME!**" Murdoc shook my body and my head bobbed back and forth. I whined as he did; a growing pain formed in the back of my neck.

"A'ight now, stop!" Russel and Noodle tore him from me and 2D went to my side. "For Christ's sake, that's not gonna bring your car back!"

"She did it! She's the one!" Murdoc screamed struggling against the drummer. "She's the one who gave away my Winnebago! I never did trust that little bitch! Ow! You bit me!" Murdoc cradled his hand and gave Noodle a disapproving look.

"Shush!" Noodle said to him with a stern warning.

2D's face grew hard as he started to call me such profanities and he turned his head to make a brave face at Murdoc. I knew he was just trying to defend me, but I said, Stu, don't worry about it. I'm fine. Just help me up." 2D did so. "How'd it go missing?"

"You know how!" Murdoc yelled, breaking off from Russel's hold.

"Yeah, definitely. That's why I'm asking you how it happened. Go ahead and refresh my memory," I waved him on, sarcastically.

Murdoc missed the intention. "Bullshit! You can't play innocent with me! You took the keys from your little _'in case of emergency'_ ring and made copies of the damn thing! Then you gave them away to spite me!"

"Of course! With my magic key copy machine!" Russel gave me a disapproving look. "What? I didn't do it! I was in my room last night with my laptop! I have the posts on the internet for proof!"

"Christ! This isn't a trial!" Murdoc said, emphasizing the last word. "All I care about is ringing your little throat with your little key ring!" He started to come at me again, but Noodle bit a warning snap at him and he stopped.

"Murdoc, I don't have the time or money to make all those copies in one night. And you had the key anyway. I've been in Kong ever since we recorded the thing. And I have no good reason to spite you like that. There's no proof that I did it."

"Except for the fact that you're a worthless bitch!"

"Hey dumbass!" Russel said, using his huge hand to smack the back of his head. "There **are** cameras in the room! What if someone hears this and takes away the girl?"

A light bulb appeared above my head and it lit when an idea came to me. I dove for my desk.

"Good ridden if they do, I tell ya! Don't want a thief among us!" Murdoc went on.

I ignored the insult he tried to throw at me. I turned on my laptop and plugged in one of the many large cables that cluttered my desktop. This one happened to be bright orange.

"She's not a thief! She can't even drive, Muds!" Russel yelled back. "Besides, where would she hide it without someone from the paparazzi recognizing her?"

I took the wire with me to the ladder that goes through the skylight. I stopped halfway up and reached to plug in the other half of the wire. Before I reached where I wanted to, a hand yanked on my ankle.

"'Ey!" Murdoc yells with his grip on my jeans. "Where the fuck do you think _you're_ going? I'm tal-"

"MURDOC!" I yelled kicking off his grip on me. He moved back with a twinge of scorn. "You and I both know I'm not the one who took your car. Nor did I give out the keys. You're just taking out your frustration by picking on me. I can respect that because I know you're upset.

"However, I'm trying to find out who did take your car and you're bothering me. THAT annoys me. So quit getting in my way!"

I pulled myself back up the ladder and reached for the plug. It entered the outlet on my first try. I climbed back down and typed on my laptop.

"Wot're you doing, Deaftiny?" 2-D asked over my shoulder. He was so quiet that I forgot he was still there.

"Well, Russel said that there are cameras everywhere," I explained as I pointed to the upper left corner of my room. There was a camera in which the orange cord was plugged into. "I'm gonna use the data to configure a profile of the thief."

"You're gonna wot?"

"Good!" Murdoc pushed 2-D aside and I could soon feel his breath on my neck. It reeked of cigars and cheap vodka.

I went through the history of the feed from the garage and found tapes from when the Winnebago was stolen. In the loop was a man with a bright blue afro-ed, a pink eye mask-ed man with creepy blank whites for eyes who wore only his underpants and a blue bow tie. He chuckled before entering through the door.

"JESUS!" I yelled.

"WURZEL!" Murdoc followed and hunched over my shoulder.

"You know who this freak is?" I questioned.

"'Course I know 'im! This guy has been trying to ruin my band from the start! He's an arse!" Murdoc raged.

"Have you met him before?" Russel asked.

"No!" Murdoc said as though we should've known the answer. "All I know about him is that he's a doctor, and he's a Wurzel- whatever that means." Obviously, Murdoc doesn't care too much about the people who are out to douse his ego. I sort of envied that about him. "This is great; how am I gonna go out now?"

"Take one of the cars," I said, gesturing to a bulletin board where most of the keys for the cars were (also for safe keeping on my part). "Town's only fifteen or so miles from here, but I'm sure you'll attract just as much attention as you would in your Winnebago."

"What? No!" Murdoc exclaimed, waving a hand at me. "I'm not traveling to town! I'm going to travel the country!"

"What?" Everyone yelled in unison.

"Yeah! I was gonna take my Winnebago! Now I'm gonna hafta use a cab!"

"Murdoc leaving band?" Noodle asked. My heart sank a little when she put it that way.

Before anyone could say anything else, a window opened on my computer showing a live camera feed from the front step. On the window was Damon and Jamie wearing bright, red and white striped sweaters, matching knit hats, and jeans.

"Hello!" Damon waved into the bulb. "We came to throw you a 'Where's Winnebago?' party!"

"WHAT?" Tell them to go away!"

"We've brought champagne!" Jamie announced, wiggling the bottle by it's neck.

"…Send them in." Typical Murdoc. I called Jamie's cell and soon the two disappeared from the screen. Then the bassist turned to me slowly. "I don't know how those keys got out of my hands, but believe you me, this isn't over. I'm not going anywhere until I have evidence that you took my Winnebago keys."

* * *

"YOU TOOK THEM?" Murdoc yelled, spilling his glass as he shot up from the couch.

"We didn't take them," Jamie explained, wiping the champagne from his thick round glasses.

"Yeah. 'Take' sounds like we copied the key without asking," Damon tried to say. "However, I'm from your label. I have rights to…what's the word? 'Borrow' your key to let the kids have a reason to check out the website and unlock a bunch of stuff like wallpapers and games and stuff. Sounds cool, right?"

Murdoc lifted Damon by the collar. "I'LL KILL YOU, YOU GREEDY PIECE OF-"

Before he continued, I pinched behind Murdoc's knee. He collapsed beside me and Damon sat back down across from him, pouring himself another drink. "Calm down, meathead. Damon had the rights to do that."

"**Nobody** has the rights to touch my stuff!" Murdoc said, crossing his arms stubbornly. "Nobody…"

"Murdoc, really? I've met six year olds who are more mature than you." I shrugged and opened my laptop, messing with the CD that Damon and Jamie bought on their way here. "Actually, the only one who's not allowed to touch your stuff _legally_ is me. I signed the contract that says (and I quote) _'I have rights to privacy as long as you have rights to privacy' _when I joined the band and began living under this excuse of a roof." I looked up to where a large crack had began forming from the garage. "But, when I read over our contract for EMI Records way back when, there was a section specifically saying that the producers from the label could _'auction, display, and vendor our property, if it's being paid for by the label.'_ Check it out." I showed Murdoc the section of the contract on the computer.

Murdoc's eyes bugged out and he pouted suspiciously, "Wait a minute…is that a Gorillaz wallpaper?"

"Yeah!" I said proudly. "It came with the key that's in the CD. Pretty cool, no? OW! What was that for?"

"How dare you have the **gall**-" Murdoc accused as he slapped my head. "To use merchandise from the enemy!"

"They're not the enemy, Murdoc! They're our label; the reason why we're famous! You asked me to read off to you the important band-related stuff about the contract, and I did when we were signed! Now, I'm sorry for that, but I can't do anything to fix it now…why is this my fault anyway?"

"It's not!" Murdoc screamed. "I just hate everything! GAH I'm gonna go pack for my trip!"

"So you are leaving after all?" Jamie asked, now having Noodle on his lap.

"Of course I am! The world doesn't wait for no man!" Murdoc started to storm off.

Then I thought, "…Wait, how does the world-"

"WHATEVER! See ya in a few weeks!" And just like that, Murdoc was gone.

I paused. "Hey guys, where's Russel and 2-D anyway?"

"You mean you don't know?" Damon asked me. I shook my head. "Well, the key to Murdoc's Winnebago wasn't the only thing that was taken from you guys."

"Yeah," Jamie followed up. Noodle looked down with a solemn face and jumped off Jamie's lap. She ran into another room; A bad omen if you ask me. "With all the access to the Winnebago that he had, Wurzel dug up the 'Ghost Train' track that the so-called 'meathead' had in his room. Along with a picture of the original Gorillaz line-up,

"with Paula in it."

The words hit me like a ton of bricks. 2D's ex-girlfriend Paula Cracker had broken 2D's heart by cheating on him with Murdoc in one of the bathroom stalls. She was going to be the original guitarist, but after that incident Russel had kicked her out of the house and broken Murdoc's nose in the process.

"So, Russel's trying to help 2D right now?" Jamie and Damon nodded. "Okay. That's good."

"So, Destiny," Damon asked with a kind of smirk. "How's your crush on 2-D anyway?"

"MY WHA-?" I squeaked. "I don't have a crush on-"

"Don't think you can go throwing one over ol' Jamie Hewlett, now!" The crazed ginger also smirked with wild eyes. "Now go on! Tell us what's going on?"

"I-I…" I stuttered, my eyes flying all over the room. "How did you-"

"We knew ever since the Destiny thing like a week ago." Damon lit a cigarette quickly and leaned back in his chair, blowing away from me. "You're like glass, you know. Not all that hard to see through you."

I figured there was no more point in lying. "Well…I don't have a crush on 2-D anymore. It's a long complicated story."

"Well, we have a lot of long, complicated time…wait-" Jamie re-thought what he said.

Before he could correct himself, I jumped into the same story I told the rest of my friends not twenty-four hours ago.

**March 26****th**** 2001: Gorillaz debut album released**

* * *

**Thanks for being patient! I'm gonna try posting one or two more chapters this year, and hopefully even start a comic of the Ms. Kong Studios story on deviantArt! Again, keep an eye out. I'll see ya soon! Rate, message, etc.**


	25. Chapter 25

_Allow me to formally address the childish banter I used to write? Holy crap, I'm nineteen- almost twenty- now and I'm looking back like "What the heck kind of child was I?" I promise that's going to probably stop now._

_I'm continuing this. Is it weird to say that a little Destiny in my head has always been present and egging me to continue writing? I never did want to stop. I just lost time as a college kid. Well it's summer now, so I hope no one isn't too mad at me._

_RECAP: Destiny convinced the band that she really did have something to do with their childhoods except for 2D who stays blissfully unaware. They released the album in the UK and it took off, at the price of Murdoc losing his beloved Winnebago as it somehow got stolen in all the hype. And in the midst of all that, Destiny still has a cute little crush on 2D (now Stuart since she's gotten to know the real 2D instead of the pop star she sees now) despite the fact that they're eleven years apart._

_Onward!_

* * *

Murdoc's Winnebago getting stolen was only the beginning of a long rampage of catastrophic photo opportunities. Soon every picture posted to the Gorillaz website was of Murdoc's beloved mobile in wacky places such as Easter Island, atop the Empire State Building, and the moon. This was hilarious not only because of the way fans got to mess with Murdoc's stuff, but also because it was a reassuring sign that his stuff was safe.

Until Murdoc left for his trip across the country, he slept in his Vauxhall Astra in the car park. One morning I went to ask him about a press conference concerning the album release and he was gone. So for a week the Gorillaz band stayed in Kong, leaving only to shop for groceries and go to an arcade, and waited for any news concerning how the first album was doing.

Then we found, the album was doing _really _well.

**April 1****st**** 2001:** **Gorillaz album enters the UK charts**

* * *

"Hey, Russel!" I said on that Sunday morning when I walked in the kitchen. "Take a look at this! We've debuted in the album charts at number 3!"

He was flipping pancakes for he and Noodle before glancing at my screen and widening his eyes, handing me a plate. "Wow, that's great! Maybe Muds knew what he was doing after all."

"Probably not," I shrugged sitting by Noodle. When she saw the screen, she high-fived me and went on devouring pancakes. "It's probably more that we're a good band than his marketing 'strategy.' Anyway, it doesn't matter how it happened. Just that people like our music!"

"Which reminds me," Russel started as he turned off the stove and sat down with us. The severity in his tone made Noodle and I stop eating. "I wanted to talk about something pretty important. Now that the album has hit off, our name is really going to be out there. The phones have been ringing already to do interviews, but without Murdoc we've been on stand-by…by the way, have you heard anything from him since he's been gone?"

I shook my head. "Not at all. I have no idea what he's doing." And that was true. It worried me the first few days to not have any contact with him- Murdoc wasn't even picking up his phone- but my nerves settled after justifying that he's a grown-up and can take care of himself.

Russel sighed and rubbed his bald head. "Well when he gets back, we're probably going to be spending a lot of time with the press. People are going to be checking into the website a lot, too, so with all this in mind we need to start being aware of what we say and do; especially because you two are Murdoc's and my responsibilities."

"I thought Noodle wasn't technically your adopted daughter because she showed up in a FedEx box," I said smartly with a raised eyebrow.

"That doesn't mean it's going to be okay to take any risks, Destiny," Russel frowned. "Look, the point is that we're going to be under a microscope now and we've already been scrutinized under a year ago when we were in Jamaica for being questionable guardians. So, stay close to me and Murdoc (when he gets here) and no acting up. I'm going to start looking into getting 2D and Damon or Jamie in on this adoption business as godfathers or something to make this easier for us, but don't do anything risky."

I was excited to hear about 2D getting a responsibility role and agreed to Russel's terms. He lectured us more about the severity of being good parent-figures for the two of us and more drawl like that that I didn't listen to, but as soon as he was done, I inhaled my pancakes and said, "I'm going to go tell 2D the good news!"

Russel called after me, "Alright, but be back up here by three to go pick up newspapers! If the album charted today, then we're going to go over some reviews!"

"Got it!" I called as I ran away. I almost punched the button on the wall and rode down to the next floor, excitement practically bursting from my fingertips. When I got to the car park door, I through it open…

Only to be met with a wall of white plastic!

I was able to blink and inhale before the wall broke and avalanched over me as I screamed. I covered my head to prevent any sharp corners from scratching me as the white spilled out, knocking me over and filling up the hallway. When it settled, I sat up and picked up one of the plastic cases. It was a _Gorillaz_ CD.

I began shuffling my way through the plastic as though it was thick snow. "2D!" I called into the garage. There was no response from his room; instead a steady beat coming from one of the parked cars across the flood of what was the car park. "Is that you, 2D? Or…Murdoc?" I asked and waddled through the thousands of CD cases. When I reached the car where the music was coming from, it was Murdoc's car and he was in the front seat. 'Murdoc's back!?'

I tapped the glass. He looked out and his eyebrows rose as he rolled down the window. "Well 'ello, darlin'."

"What is all of this?!" I asked, gesturing to the rest of the room.

He didn't flinch. "CDs. A lot of them."

"No kidding! Why are they here?"

"I bought 'em all."

"How many?"

"17, 500 copies."

"Seventeen- wait, is this why you went across the country?!" I demanded. "To buy up all our CDs?!"

"Hey, I didn't just _buy_ the CDs!" Murdoc corrected me. "I used some IOUs too, y'know!"

I pinched the bridge between my eyes and growled. "Whatever, look, I was looking for 2D to tell him some important stuff that Russel just told us. You may want to go talk to him and actually _tell_ _us_ next time you're back from a road trip like this? We could start scheduling interviews as soon as you arrived, you know."

"Nope. I'd rather not, thank you." Murdoc crossed his legs over the steering wheel and folded his hands behind his head. He was smoking a cigarette and blew out a huge cloud of smoke in my direction. I stumbled back over some CDs.

"You're impossible," I started to trudge away from him. "Come upstairs at three! We're going to start reading reviews!"

"Maybe!" Murdoc called back. I rolled my eyes and headed to 2D's door. On the way, grabbing a CD out of the pile, looking over the cover, and putting it under my hat.

* * *

When we all gathered in the lobby with newspapers like The Times, The Sunday Telegraph, and The Guardian, we were blown away by praise (that's a first). We read things like "four out of five stars," "splendid," "irresistible…"

"I saw one which went 'alarmingly addictive.' Heh!" 2D gawked as he handed off a paper to the pile of "read material." He was folded on the floor and smiled up at me on the couch. I blushed and looked back to my laptop where I read news online.

"Really? I used words like 'genius', 'gob smacking', and 'supreme overload of all I survey.'

"Yeah, but we're still getting a lot of words like 'concept' too," I reminded as I typed something off to Damon. "The album's gotten great praise, but it's not enough to balance out our image and our music videos. Ow!" Again Murdoc smacked the back of my head as to get me to be quiet. "You need to stop that, y'know! Russel said so!"

"Yeah, Muds…" Russel said in a dark voice. Despite it, the geezer waved us off.

"Relax, it's nothin' to get hung up over. If the brat doesn't shut up, she gets put in her place- it's called parenting, righ'?" Murdoc flicked on the television and a program instantly came up with Damon and Jamie being interviewed as collaborators for Gorillaz. There were title bars under them with the words "Associate Producer" and "Video Director" in them respectively.

"Oh yeah, I forgot that's what the two were up to today," I murmured to myself. Just as quick, Murdoc turned off the screen. "What're you-?" He walked to the box, picked it up, and threw it out a nearby window. Noodle screamed as the glass crashed and 2D covered his head. "Are you mad?!"

"No! I'm sick of seein' those two goal-hangers take credit for _my_ band!" Murdoc roared and started to storm to the car park. "We should start plannin' on cuttin' them off from the band or something! I'm sick of seeing their faces."

"But Murdoc, they're great help and-"

"Ah, ah, ah!" Murdoc waved his hand at me to stop talking and disappeared into the hallway. The four of us were left behind to clean up the newspapers and repair the broken window. I think Murdoc was being unnecessarily angry at the two. It was really a huge portion of their work that got us all those good reviews so they should get some credit too. Besides, it wasn't like we were going to able to go on TV to do shows like they could, so it's good to have a wide net of publicity covered. The more word of mouth the better, right?

* * *

I was wrong.

For the next two months all we ever did were interviews. It upset me because I'd been using music as a way to vent the forbidden emotions I felt for 2D/Stuart from the Demon Days trials, but we rarely had time to be in the booth. It was upsetting that we traded in the limelight for the heart for our band's sake, but it seemed like after the album entered the charts, we were in constant motion and didn't take any more breaks.

Soon we even found ourselves playing live shows again which wasn't too bad, because I was looking forward to ripping out on the guitar again. We were heading to Paris and Ireland so travelling, once again, was on the agenda and Murdoc was still ever terrified of planes.

"Just think of it as separation from the world of idiots that you don't like below. Flying is a good thing. Not a reason to kill my hand _again_," I tried saying through clenched teeth. I wonder if Murdoc's death grip has gotten worse from our last flight or if I'm just losing too much blood flow to that part of my body. Murdoc shook like a leaf under my hand and the whole business section of the plane could probably hear him shiver. There was a clattering sound as the seat jumbled and it eventually started tearing bolts that secured the seat to the plane. "Oh, come on Murdoc! This is embarrassing me!"

"Here try this," Russel said from the row behind us. He popped two pills out of a container, smacked them in Murdoc's terrified face forcing him to swallow them, and within seconds Murdoc's body went limp. A soft snore lulled out and I jerked away my arm so the blood would return to it.

"Thanks…what was that?"

"Sedatives," Russel responded as he opened a SkyMall magazine. "They're powerful enough to take down a rhino. He'll wake up by the time we get there…or maybe Dublin."

I swallowed and glanced at him again before leaving Murdoc's side to sit next to Noodle and 2D. The two were across from us and there was a spare seat in the aisle. "What's down?"

"What's up, you mean."

I frowned at Russel who didn't glance away from his magazine, but Noodle spoke instead. "Ignore. Papa hungry." She handed me a Gameboy and we started battling against each other via a Gamelink cable. 2D was staring out the window blankly and eventually he started to sigh loudly.

"What's wrong, 2-Dents?" I asked pretty soon.

"Oh, nuffin…well, it's just me mum wanted to see me perform at our next show. But she can' go down to Paris to watch us." He hunched over and rested his head on his hands. "I don' know wot to tell 'er is all. It's too late."

I felt for 2D; in truth I feel grateful to his mom for letting me always stay over and always treating me kindly when I was with Stuart as a child. I pondered over what could have been done, since it was very late to fly her down.

Then an idea hit me. "Hey, 2D…! Why don't we just stream her the video live?" 2D cocked his head to one side. "You know; like over the internet! And we can do that for every band we're performing with tonight! We'll make a virtual concert and then everyone can watch the Gorillaz perform! It'll be really cool!"

2D's head lifted up and a smile spread widely across his face. "Tat would be awesome! How are we gonna pull it off?"

I opened my laptop and started punching away e-mails to the concert director, Jamie and Damon, camera crews, internet providers, and people of that sort. I looked up the shape of the room and how we could set up cameras in different areas. By the time we landed (it was only a two hour flight), I felt really behind on if we could pull this off, but the event manager was too into the idea to give up. When we arrived at La Cigale in Paris's red light distract Pigalle, the man started laying out a blue print and telling crewmen where we could set up cameras and drag wires and I started to help hook up a feed so that when Gorillaz opened for the night, it would all be ready to enter the homes of millions; including 2D's mother's home.

During the hectic set up, Noodle pulled me aside with a smirk. "The only reason you did all of this was to make 2D happy."

I blushed. Internally I was thankful Noodle said it in Japanese and no one was around to see her wiggle her eyebrows at me. I shifted the boxes in my arms and cleared my throat. "Yeah, so?"

"No reason. Just saying," Noodle said smartly and started to walk ahead of me to set up the stage. A large white curtain dropped to separate the audience and the band like the show we had in London. "I just find it funny that you still _like_ 2D."

My face set into a smug feature. "Yeah, yeah, I'm getting over it, okay? Hand me that wrench," I grumbled and started to fix cameras to cover every square inch of the theater.

**June 22****nd**** 2001: La Cigale, Paris, France**

* * *

"Wow, look at tis view! Deaftiny, tis is wicked cool!"

2D and I were setting up the last of the cameras on top of lighting scaffolding that hung over the audience. I screwed in the base of the pivot and turned it on; it swiveled around and took in all of the setting below.

I sat up so that I could straddle the metal piping under me and pressed a button on the side of my head. "I just set up the last one. It's located on the scaffolding of the stage lights. Label it 'Center: 8'."

The man on the other side responded, *Got it. Good job Ms. Hobbs. I recommend coming down; the show's about to start.*

"Okay, climbing down now. Thank you," I responded and moved my hand from the headset. I looked down at the stage and the white screen had a giant 'Gorillaz' logo scrawled across it. The audience were getting fired up and sitting in their seats. Flashes from their cameras dazzled the mobs as I turned to 2D and smiled. "We have to start climbing down now. Thanks for helping me, 2D!"

He smiled back. "You're welcome, Love. I'm glad I could hel-" Before he finished the lights turned off and a speaker started to instruct the audience on where exits were, to enjoy the show, etc. It not only alerted 2D and I of how little time we had until the show started,

But our eyes weren't adjusted at all to our path getting back down.

2D's voice was directed at me, so he still knew where I was. But I couldn't see anything past my own hand. "Deaftiny…wot're we gonna do?"

"I don't know yet, 2D…let me think…!" I thought about talking into the headset to see if anyone would come get us, but no one picked up on the other line. Just moving my hand away from the beam made me realize how thin it was; we were sitting on weaved metal poles that were maybe a foot wide and impossibly long. The nearest way to get down would be to go backwards from where I was about ten or fifteen feet to a catwalk, but even turning around blindly would prove to be a challenge. This was a lot easier when I could see where we were going. I wish I hadn't rejected safety lines for the sake of getting these cameras up in time.

In any other circumstance I would have 2D and I lay down on the scaffolding since it was holding our weight fine and we'd stay there safely until someone came to get us, but there was no time to wait it out. We had to be on stage as soon as the opening act was over and that was very limited time. If I recall correctly, they were only going to play three to five songs and get off as to buy us time to set up the live feed. Trying to move blindly would be really risky and the fall could lead to getting severely injured. I imagined Wile E. Coyote as he fell from atop a cliff and at the bottom would be a tiny cloud of dust. Russel said that we would be fine within "an episode's worth" of time, but that would mean the show would have to be cancelled. So risking moving wasn't really an option either.

"What to do? What to do? C'mon, you're smarter than this, Destiny!" I muttered to myself.

*Not really, if you got yourself in this mess!* A slimy voice replied in the ear bud. *Even more so for druggin' me on the plane! Did you really think I would wake up _fine_ with bein' knocked out cold?!*

"Murdoc!" I responded over the headset. "Where are you? 2D and I are stuck on the scaffolding in the audience! Send help!"

*I _know_ where you are! I can see you right now!* Murdoc responded. I looked around and saw two greenish orbs glowing behind me on the catwalk. Night-vision goggles? *You two morons weren't backstage and no one knew where you were, so I went lookin' myself! For Christ's sake, we have a show to perform!*

"Murdoc, we were setting up cameras to make the show's broadcast better. I can explain later, but right now we need help to get down," I told him over the radio.

*Why should I-*

"-Because we have a show to perform in less than fifteen minutes!"

*Fine. What do you need,* he complained more than asked.

"I need you to look over the scaffolding and guide us back to the catwalk. I'm facing the stage right now, but 2D's behind me. I need to turn around first so he can follow me off. What should I do?"

After a short pause Murdoc started speaking, *Awright- Twist to the right and steady your upper body so you can swing your legs around. There's a horizontal pole a half a foot from your rump, so you can grab that.*

I told 2D to stay still and started to turn around, but I didn't feel anything under my hand when I swung my leg. "Like this?"

*No! _My_ right!*

I felt my hand fall and my upper body with it. It was like I just leaned forward off the strip and now I was falling. I suppressed a scream, reached up, and thankfully 2D grabbed my other hand. He was the only thing holding me above a three-story fall.

"Are you okay, love?!" 2D asked.

"Just pull me up!" I pleaded and started to rise towards the scaffolding again. I gripped the thing and straddled it securely before speaking in the microphone again. "Murdoc! What was that?!"

*I told you what to do! Don't yell at me! I said _my_ right!*

"We were facing the same way!" I yelled back, but sighed. "Whatever, can we just hurry up please? And this time I'll hold up what hand I'm placing before I go. Okay?"

That's how we started to maneuver our way back to the catwalk. Slowly Murdoc would instruct me to lift a hand, move it forward until I felt a certain bar and use it to pull the rest of my body forward until there was enough room behind me for 2D to follow. Luckily there weren't any repeats of almost falling, but we did come to disagreements over whose left was whose and eventually I just learned to do the opposite direction of what Murdoc told me. Soon enough the two of us were at the catwalk and swung ourselves over the railing to safety. Murdoc lifted the goggles on his head so we could see his glare better. I ignored him.

"We don't have time for lectures or junk now! We have to go perform!" I started running down the catwalk to a ladder and eventually the winding halls and stairs led us backstage. I quickly grabbed my keytar and checked if the cameras were working and it seemed like everything was in place. We ran onstage and the crowd started roaring as we opened up with 'M1-A1.'

* * *

"It's funny how differently we're taken in different countries," Russel started to reflect the next day on a plane to Dublin. Once again, Murdoc was drugged and passed out next to Noodle, who curled up in a ball on his lap. They were huddled together and looked pretty cute. "In England, they love the record, but unsure about the live show. In France, they love the live show even though the album hasn't even been released yet."

I turned in my chair with the Dr. Pepper I just ordered. "Yeah, I don't think we've even touched on France unless Damon did something or other. We don't exactly have a publicist." I popped the tab and finished the can in a long chug. "But, it looks like our stream of the show on the internet was headlining the Glastonbury Festival. I remember we were supposed to attend, but it was cancelled this year, but I guess our performance contributed to the virtual one instead. I'm getting the stats from the show right now and apparently _hundreds _of _thousands_ watched our performance last night!"

Russel and 2D started to flip out and high five each other. It was really surprising; the audience attendance was only 1,500 from last night, but the Internet multiplied that number tenfold.

"And it wouldn't have 'appened if not for Deaftiny!" 2D said, squeezing my shoulder. My eyes shot up to his and I saw Stuart's round, un-dented ones staring back. I shivered and tried to catch my breath, zipping up the front of my black and white hoodie more.

Then, my phone went off and I saw it was from Damon. "Hello?"

*Hey Destiny,* He replied and a long 'Helloooooo' in the background guaranteed me that Jamie was there as well. *Jamie says hi. Did you see the ratings from the Festival?*

"Yeah, that's pretty intense. And we're on our way to Dublin too. Who knows what kind of reception we're going to get there."

*Yeah, I know what you mean. Like, have you seen the reception in America?* Damon asked.

My brow knit together as I started to open my laptop while talking. "America? The album wasn't supposed to release there for another month though. What's going on in America?"

*She doesn't even know?!* I heard Jamie's voice from the other end before he started to laugh hysterically. Damon had to audibly hit him a few times before he got back on the other line. *Sorry about that. Destiny, I suggest you look up some news in the States. It's all pretty wild over there.*

"Okay. I'll look into it," I answered and started looking up my news sources in America. "Anything else going on?"

*Well, I wanted to say congratulations for the success from last night and that we're going to have another video shoot as soon as you're done in Ireland.*

"What?!" I almost screamed over the phone. "So soon? Right when we get back?!"

*Yeah. We need to release another single A-sap, kiddo.* Jamie started filling me in on some details about where to go and when once we got back from the airport. It seemed as though we would go straight from there to the shoot. *You got all that? Or should I send you an e-mail?*

"No, send me an e-mail too. I'm going to call you back when we land." I hung up the phone. All over my webpages there was news about riots going on in the US. The only way to describe the reception was that everyone _exploded_. Families camping outside of record shops. Anti-riot police were called to Wal-Marts to prevent fights. Kids being treated from heat exhaustion and bursting into flames from even seeing the cover of the thing. Truly we were received well in the US.

"Russel!" I called to him and showed him all the reaction. Even he was left speechless. "This is good…right?"

"I don' know why it wouldn' be," 2D said happily. "Seems like t'ey _really _get it over t'ere. Most bands create an image to make t'emselves look like somefink cool. Gorillaz is somefink cool t'at's made to look like an image. T'ey get why we work. It's a really good fing."

"I guess so," I muttered and started to look over magazine reviews like the Rolling Stones, Spin, and The Blank Page. Everyone came back positive and we hadn't even done a single show over there. I checked my e-mail next and it was jammed full of requests for interviews, collaborations, merchandise, radio spots, telecasts, and remix requests. There was even a huge chunk concerning the music video that we were going to film when we get back that I had somehow looked past. The single was pre-decided to be '19-2000'; that was exciting for me at least. I liked that song and it would mean singing in the video.

I looked to Murdoc and Noodle and Russel. The two were still out cold, but Russel was shaking his head and exhaled a deep breath. "Looks like our agenda's going to be pretty packed."

"Yeah," I said, torn between happiness and feeling locked in place. "Looks like it a lot."

**June 19th 2001: Gorillaz' released in the US**

* * *

_Okay there's a lovely chunk for y'all. I'm going to go write more- as I have a lot planned and a music video- and I'd appreciate it if you'd message me or leave a review. Even if it's just 'Hey, great story' that helps my motivation a lot._

_Also, go check out some great artwork I've got coming out on my Deviant Art account with the same name. A lot of Destiny artwork is coming soon!_

_Thanks and until next time._


	26. Chapter 26

_Here's Chapter 26!_

_Once again, I'm not quite sure how to do music video summaries, but I try._

_Also, the close to perfect human actress for Destiny would be Ryan Newman. I envision Destiny's nose being a bit bigger and her skin a tad more tan given that it's summer right now. Anyway..._

* * *

Apparently, Murdoc and Russel were already aware of the album's release in America. They had gone to the States and talked about how many copies they would need, when to release them, and even with all that effort it wasn't enough. This had been done in late March when I was knocked out in Demon Days.

The show in Dublin was pretty much a blur to me as well. Murdoc didn't wake up from the pills that knocked him out for the plane ride in time for the performance, so a replacement bassist was called in. I spent the entirety of the concert completely distracted by the idea of what was going to happen as soon as we touched down in England again. We were going to shoot for the song '19-2000'? I thought '5/4' was going to be the next single. What was the video going to be about? Will it include zombie gorillas that attack the band and crack my skull in half again?

We found out soon enough for as soon as the performance ended we were put back on a plane and shuttled to England. It was going to be a long day…

**June 24****th**** 2001: Dublin Olympia, Ireland**

* * *

"I can't believe you knocked me out. _Again_," Murdoc grumbled with his arms crossed. We were sitting in a van on the way to the video shoot. All of us were feeling tired, but it would ware off soon enough for it was a post-nap feeling from sleeping on the plane. Sadly, it seemed to be the only place we could catch shut-eye from now on.

"Murdoc, I really don't want to talk about this now," I said, rubbing my temples. 2D leaned his head on my shoulder and my heart started racing. I quickly stiffened and looked out the window to hide my red face. Noodle snickered behind me.

"You okay there, Destiny?" Jamie asked with the same snicker from the passenger seat by Damon. I mentally flipped him off. "Well no time for cuddling now! We're here!"

The van slowed to a stop and when we all got out our jaws dropped. It seemed like we were in the middle of nowhere; just long highways with a loop-de-loop in the middle. I gawked at the size of the thing. It wasn't until Russel spoke that the spell broke.

"Is that my geep?" He pointed, walking towards the camouflaged vehicle. I was about to walk with the rest of the group to the car, but Jamie stepped in front of me with his hand out.

"What? I can't go learn about the video I'm in?" I asked. He handed me a paper bag and I looked inside. "What's this?"

"Go find out, won't you doll?" Jamie pointed behind me at a trailer and turned around. "See you soon."

"I'm not going to like this, am I?" I called after him.

* * *

"I don't like this, Hewlett!" I screamed at him. He gave me a white, off the shoulder T-shirt with a Mach-5 symbol on the front, skinny jeans, and matching boots. I stormed up to him with clenched fists and grabbed the front of his shirt, dragging him down to meet my eyes. "You have explaining to do! What the hell am I wearing?!"

"Destiny," Russel warned.

"What the heck am I wearing?!"

Jamie just shrugged and stood up casually. He brushed off his pants and explained, "It's just a gimmick; we're rolling with this whole Wacky Races idea and figured it's another racing cartoon so -"

"I'm not talking about the _logo_, Hewlett; I'm talking about the style." I almost fumed through my teeth. Russel's hand on my bare shoulder made me turn to him and suddenly the look was pleading. "Daddy, I don't want to wear the shirt!" I started to whine.

Jamie went to Murdoc and the two shared a fist bump. Noodle and 2D started to talk about my outfit and I felt self-conscious. Eventually I got Russel on my side.

"Look- Jamie, she's right. Destiny's only eleven; we can't have her do the video like this," Russel said, scratching the back of his head. I nodded with him. Why was everyone else wearing long sleeves, jackets, hoodies, and I had to be a pin-up doll?!

"Oh my god. Move," Jamie's long-time intern/assistant, Ally, pushed her way through Jamie and Murdoc and walked up to me. She took out a black rubber band and tied the loose sleeve on my shoulder so it looked the combination of a T-shirt and a tank top. It still looked deviant (as I don't want to sexualize this more than it already has been), but I felt comfortable in it too. "Now stop bitching."

I looked at my outfit in the reflection of the glass on the geep and bit my lip, surrendering. Jamie opened his arms. "Hooray! Now can we please get a move on?! We're losing daylight!" Somewhere in the distance a bell rang and cameras started going to place. Everyone ran to their spots except for 2D who moved by my side.

"I fink you look dazzlin', love. Don't worry about it," He gave me a confident, lop-sided, hip-hug and started walking to the geep as well.

Looking in, I noticed there were only four seats. "Jamie," I called. "What's going on? Who's sitting where?"

"We talked about that, see-"He said from his director's chair. "-and we decided you're sitting up top; on the bar here." Jamie rose and patted the metal that separated the front seats from the back. Noodle stood in her seat and held the bar in her hands, smiling at me.

"Are you kidding me?!"

"Don't worry, doll!" Jamie said, shaking the thing. "It's totally safe! Now get a move on!"

* * *

**19-2000 Music Video**

The band jumps in the seats of the geep as 'Gorillaz' scrawl out above. I get in as Russel rocks the car and it forces me to bounce up high on the bar.

Murdoc starts the car and '19-2000' starts playing over the radio. He revs the engine, shifts into drive, and looks in the back mirror, a glare staring at him back.

That's when the car screeches forward and we start a pointless road trip on the highway. The camera watches us from afar and zooms into 2D singing the first verse. Murdoc flicks around a toothpick painfully in his teeth and I swing my legs in and out of the camera shot. 2D starts snapping along before Murdoc starts speeding up and grabbed the bar I sat on instead. He finishes the first verse, cueing Noodle and I to start singing our part.

The car teeters from side to side and I struggle to hold on until the camera zooms in on Noodle and I singing to each other with wide smiles. As soon as the camera leaves us, I start struggling again. The angles zoom around Murdoc speeding down the highway; the only cop sunbathing in a thong without caring about the fact that we were hitting one-eighty. As the roller-coaster loop starts coming in view, my heart freaks out and I swallow hard.

"There you go! You get the cool…" Noodle sings with the biggest smile. I don't understand how she's not screaming. I start to sing back-ups, trying my best to duplicate her carefree attitude, but I feel my hands being the only thing holding my hips to the car as we go upside down; the rest of my body letting gravity take over. We reach the top of the loop and I feel my fingers strain, but it isn't enough.

"You get the cool shoe shine." At that lyric, I slip out off of the car.

And start crashing towards the concrete.

* * *

The fall felt like it was crushing my chest. Then it wasn't. Then it was. Eventually I realized I was flipping through the air; like a trapeze artist, I was continuously somersaulting until I eventually didn't know where the sky or ground was. It was absolutely terrifying.

"NO! Deaftiny!"

"Murdoc! She fell out!"

"I know that, Einstein!" Murdoc yelled back at Russel as he slammed the gas and glared over the wheel.

"Well do something!"

"I'm trying…" He growled, focusing on the last curve of the loop.

Some of the crew screamed. Others gasped and said nothing. Everyone held their breath, though, as they watched the geep curve closer to the ground than my rampant body.

I tried screaming, but it got caught in my throat. The ground was coming closer and closer. I had no idea what Murdoc had in mind doing, but he wasn't fast enough for it. I was going to hit the ground.

Murdoc focused hard and slammed the brake. He manipulated the wheel and gave 2D a hard shove away from him. The geep squealed and twisted and skid marks were left behind, but he was somehow able to slide the vehicle sideways…

And I slipped perfectly next to 2D.

* * *

"Deaftiny! Are you awright?" 2D asked, cradling me in his chest. I just sat there and shook, crying softly. "Murdoc! Look at wot you did!"

"What?! This isn't my fault!" Murdoc yelled back and crossed his arms. "If you're gonna blame anybody, blame your precious director!" He indicated to a smiling Jamie who only shrugged.

"You promised this was safe, Jamie!" Russel seethed.

"What can I say? Apparently it wasn't," Jamie replied with a level head. "Is she fine? Can we keep going?"

"No, she's not fine!" Russel yelled and started arguing with Jamie. He stormed out of the car, rocking it from side to side again and picked him up by the collar. I felt Noodle's hand on my shoulder on top of 2D's gangly arms around me and the two were muttering nothings to me.

"Destiny, okay? You still good. We film video, yes?" I shook my head.

"Deaftiny, you're okay now. I got you. I'm not lettin' anybody hurt you. I promised. Everyfing is gonna be awrigh', don't cry, okay?"

But I couldn't help myself. I let the tears spill on his shirt and sucked in as much oxygen as I could.

* * *

There was an hour break then. 2D carried me out of the car and had me checked over by the stand-by meds, while Russel and a maintenance crew modified the geep's front seat so I could sit by 2D. Meanwhile Murdoc bullied the rest of the crew into not breathing a word of what happened here and if anyone asked to tell them to "sod off."

The video was edited so that when I fell out it looked on purpose and the flips in the air only added to the cinematic quality. When the chorus was over and Russel's drumming started up, I slipped into the geep perfectly as if it had all been planned.

The video continued with more driving; by oil pumps, passed a 'bridge out' sign, and up over a ravine where the promised road was split. 2D started the second verse there; floating in mid-air in the rearview mirror with a promised monkey watching the car fly by.

Murdoc smiles at the camera when a sign ahead directs you to salvation at the next exit, but he skips it and an alien craft chases the geep down the highway as punishment. It stopped only to shoot a gas station and its tenant, blowing the whole thing sky-high and sending flaming tires and other metal at the car.

By Jamie's direction for more cinematic effect, I stood up in my seat and started dodging the pieces that came too close to the car's roof. I ducked under the last tire and stuck my tongue out at the alien craft before Murdoc pulled me back down in my seat and gave me a hard look. I cross my arms for the camera, but it's all for show.

Something explodes behind the car and we get lifted off the ground, falling in slow motion as Noodle begins singing again. Images of her singing by 2D zoom past the camera as our biggest obstacle comes into view; a 300-ft tall moose. And just when I thought we were home free too.

We all gawk at the size of the thing when Murdoc brakes in front of it, but it doesn't stop our demon bassist. He instead presses a button that-of course- gives access to missiles under the bed of the car. I look over 2D as the entire gang lifts from the wheels and before I could get situated again, Murdoc speeds off.

So Murdoc- laughing demonically with the intent to blow the moose, elk, thing up- pushes another button on the dashboard and the missiles fly out. They seem to get so close and I cover my head from falling moose meat, but the beast sneezes and the weapons are neutralized against it.

They instead fall to us.

Murdoc- with his impeccable skill to catch anything that falls at the car he's driving- cruises under the bombs and blows up the geep with the band in it. Tires fly off and we skid under the unaffected moose to a screeching halt. The video ends with the five of us- singed, crispy, and shocked- in the aftermath. Only Murdoc looks more peeved than anything else and I cough once; a cloud of black smoke leave my lungs. Some valve lets loose a puff of white smoke and the image comes to a close, totaling to 3 minutes, 17 seconds.

**End**

* * *

"Great," I say having just watched the finished video on one of the camera's monitors. I just took a shower in the trailer and was drying out the long strands of burnt hair when Jamie waved me over to see the product. "And no one can tell those were stunt doubles used during the later parts of the video?"

"Nope," Jamie smirked with his hands folded behind his head. "You and the band are still pristine and the public are still suckers for thinking you do your own stunts; it's a win-win for everyone."

"Stunt doubles?" 2D questioned walking by, having changed in a Hunter S. Thompson 'Fear and Loathing' get-up. He slid the pink glasses down to analyze the film and frowned. "I didn' know we 'ad stunt doubles! I just sat in the buggy the whole time!"

"Even over the bridge?" I asked.

"Yeah! I wos terrified of jumpin' tat gap! My seatbelt wos twisted too!" He collapsed in a nearby chair and started muttering to himself. His hands reached in his pockets for medication.

"Oi! Hewlett!" Murdoc yelled our way having traded his normal gray sweater for a red shirt and military-grade jacket with matching hat. "Wot the 'ell was that bloody moose doing in there?! I didn't okay that!"

"Yeah, that was weird," I agreed, watching Noodle in her everyday light blue outfit approach with a gas mask and Russel in a huge coat with a fur hood and khakis as they walked up to us. "Not as weird as the UFO, I think."

"Yeah, was that real?" Russel questioned.

"I don't remember anymore," Jamie dismissed and hopped out of his seat. "Anyway! Onto the little ident, then, right?"

"Ident?" I asked watching everyone walk away. "What's an ident?"

Russel answered me, "It's for when our video premieres on television. Like how BBC has promos for TV shows or cuts between commercials and when the show returns. Those are promos."

"Oh. So we're going to just stand around in the background as 2D talks or something?" I asked, figuring that was why everyone was dressed up, including me. I wore a light gray turtleneck with baggy green cargo pants and army boots. There was a lot of attention to detail in the outfit too, like the knife accessory I carried in a holster on my hip and the pins and logos on the air force hat.

"Well, you're probably going to be up front with 2D."

"What?! Why me?"

"Well, you're the front girl, Destiny." Russel pat my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "C'mon it's not that bad. You're probably not even going to say anything."

I nodded and posed by the geep next to 2D. Russel stood to one side and Noodle on the other. Murdoc leaned on the passenger side with his head buried in his arms. I looked in the mirror at my outfit quickly when I realized that the ends of my hair were black. "Murdoc! My hair is burnt!"

"So what? You look hot for once!"

I wrinkled my nose and put the locks in a ponytail. With a quick swipe of the knife I had, I cut off the crisped ends so it all lay evenly and came to my shoulder blades again. I left my hair up for the ident and tucked it out of a hole in the back of the hat.

"Okay, ready to shoot," someone on set said, holding the marker in front of the camera and started shooting the bit. 2D started going on about buggies and some Chinese filmmaker. In the background we heard a loud noise and suddenly Murdoc's Winnebago comes out of nowhere!

The driver whoops at Murdoc and chucks a beer can at his head. He doesn't even turn around though; not even when it threw off his hat. I gawk at the mobile as it flies by, 2D going on as if nothing changed. When Jamie yells "cut," Russel starts to chuckle,

"Murdoc…that was your Winnebago!"

"Eh!?" He stutters and whips his head in that direction. 2D starts chuckling through his gap and I giggle. That's how the ident ended. "Of all the blazing-!" Murdoc starts yelling and jumps in the car speeding in that direction, almost running over half of Jamie's crew. 2D and I fall to the ground in tears, Noodle joining us with her gas mask still on.

**June 25****th**** 2001: 19-2000 single released**

**June 25****th**** 2001: 'Gorillaz' album enters US chart, peaking at No. 14**

* * *

When we saw the premiere on TV with our little ident before it the next day, we were ecstatic. And we were home! The summer was our's to do what we want (with the exception of some interviews here and there) and we had a lot planned.

"Where's the nearest beach, 2D?"

"We shouldn't look for the nearest one," he replied. "We should look for the best one in all of England!"

"Boardwalk!" Noodle screamed suddenly and connected her fists with the table. "Roller-coaster! Cotton candy!"

"Are there any beaches like that, 2D?!" I asked excitingly. With the exception of Murdoc- who was still hunting down his Winnebago- the Gorillaz were in the lobby hovering over a tourist map spread out on a coffee table. Russel was in an arm chair reading over some numbers and a calendar to figure out when the best time to schedule a vacation would be.

"Well, I don't fink so…but we could go back to Crawley and see my dad at his carnival. I bet he'd let us in," 2D suggested scratching his chin in thought.

"Water park!"

"We don't have one of those around Crawley, as far as I know."

"Well, we can schedule two vacations," Russel said as he flipped the page to the next month. "It looks like the summer's pretty quiet compared to what we normally take on. Despite the album and video, it looks like we aren't going to be doing anything major until August's Japan show."

"We're going to Japan?!" I asked as Noodle screamed. "Noodle, maybe we can look into finding some of your roots!"

"Let's not think of flying and Japan now, child. Where do you want to go?" Russel asked looking at the map with us.

"Look!" 2D pointed off of the thing. "There's a waterpark in France we could go to."

"We were just in France," I said, resting my head on my chin. "If we're gonna travel abroad I say we leave Europe again. We should go to America!"

"Too popular," Noodle argued. As she said that, there was a knock at the door.

I got up to get it and talked as I went, "I guess you're right. What about Spain? Or New Zealand or somewhere _really _out there then?" I opened the door and there was a man and a woman in suits on the other side; she with red hair pulled back in gray, the other bald and in all black. I didn't recognize either of them. "Can I help you gentlemen?"

"Destiny Brooks?" The woman asked. I couldn't tell if either of them were looking at me behind their sunglasses.

"Yes?"

"We're from CPS. We need you to come with us." She flashed a badge in my face, but I didn't read it in time. I only started to back away and turn my head.

"Russel? There are people at the door…"

"Can we help you?" He asked as he and 2D started walking to us.

"Sir, we're from CPS," the woman repeated. "That's Child Protective Services of the United States. We've come to take Destiny back into custody."

"You're doing what?!" I screamed and felt 2D wrap his arms around my shoulders. The words still rang in my head; take me back. 'Taking me back into custody.' What does that even mean? I was being taken away from Russel and Murdoc? "Why?!"

"Russel Hobbs, I assume?"

"Yes, that's m-"

"You're also going to have to come with us. We're going to look over Destiny's adoption process again. We're deporting her back to the United States." He took out a pair of handcuffs. This was real! They were taking me away from them! I was being deported!

"No! What about Murdoc?! You can't take me away!"

"Murdoc Niccals is already under custody. Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to take your hands off of her." The woman barked at 2D.

He shook his head and held tighter. "No, you can't do tis…you can't take Deaftiny."

"Do as she says, 'D," Russel muttered having turned around and been handcuffed.

"You can't take Deaftiny! I promised to protect 'er!" The woman removed 2D by force and he fell back into the house. She grabbed my arm and dragged me away from Kong Studios.

"2D!"

"No! You can't take her!" 2D yelled over tears with Noodle nearby. She watched silently- stunned in fear.

"2D, call Damon and Jamie, you hear?! Call them! We'll get this worked out; it's going to be fine!" Russel called over his shoulder as the man pushed him to a car. The woman dragged me another one and locked me in the backseat. "Call them! Get this straightened out!"

"2D! Daddy! Don't let her take me!" I screamed, pounding on the glass. She drove off and I watched as 2D chased after the car as it drove down the hill.

This was real. I was being taken back to America. I was being taken away from the Gorillaz.

* * *

_Well, it finally happened; the fuzz caught up to the Gorillaz and the whole Child Services junk._

_What's going to happen to Destiny? Will she be taken away finally and sent back home? Is Russel not going to be in charge of her anymore?_

_Read the next chappie and find out. Rate, review, PM me, check my Deviantart account with the same name, blah blah blah._


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